$CMRF Risk Factor changes from 00/03/30/22/2022 to 00/03/28/24/2024

Item 1A.

Risk Factors — Risks Associated with Our Real Estate Segment in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We generally intend to hold each property we acquire for an extended period, generally in excess of five years. Holding periods for other real estate-related assets may vary. Circumstances might arise that could cause us to determine to sell an asset before the end of the expected holding period if we believe the sale of the asset would be in the best interests of our stockholders. The determination of whether a particular asset should be sold or otherwise disposed of will be made after consideration of relevant factors, including prevailing and projected economic conditions, current tenant rolls and tenant creditworthiness, whether we could apply the proceeds from the sale of the asset to acquire other assets, whether disposition of the asset would increase cash flows, and whether the sale of the asset would be a prohibited transaction under the Code or otherwise impact our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes.9 million, resulting in net proceeds of $914.4 million after closing costs and a net gain of $44. By operating on a leveraged basis, we have more funds available for acquiring properties or credit investments. This allows us to make more investments than would otherwise be possible, potentially resulting in a more diversified portfolio. The amount of leverage we use is determined by our manager, taking into account a variety of factors, which may include the anticipated liquidity and price volatility of target assets in our investment portfolio, the potential for losses and extension risk in our investment portfolio, the gap between the duration of assets and liabilities, including hedges, the availability and cost of financing the assets, the creditworthiness of our financing counterparties, the health of the global economy and commercial and residential mortgage markets, the outlook for the level, slope, and volatility of interest rate movement, the credit quality of our target assets and the type of collateral underlying such target assets. When possible, we will also seek to limit the risks associated with recourse borrowing and the amount of spread mark-to-market.As of December 31, 2023, our ratio of debt to total gross assets net of gross intangible lease liabilities was 63.2%.The following table details our outstanding financing arrangements and borrowing capacity as of December 31, 2023 (in thousands):___________________________________(1)Subject to borrowing availability.(2)Facilities under the J.P.

Morgan Repurchase Facility (as defined in Note 10 — Repurchase Facilities, Notes Payable and Credit Facilities to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) carry no maximum facility size.Subject to maintaining our qualification as a REIT, from time to time, we engage in hedging transactions that seek to mitigate the effects of fluctuations in interest rates or currencies on our cash flows. These hedging transactions could take a variety of forms, including interest rate or currency swaps or cap agreements, options, futures contracts, forward rate or currency agreements or similar financial instruments.We may attempt to reduce interest rate risk and to minimize exposure to interest rate fluctuations through the use of match funded financing structures, when appropriate, whereby we may seek (1) to match the maturities of our debt obligations with the maturities of our assets, and (2) to match the interest rates on our assets with like-kind debt (i.e., we may finance floating rate assets with floating rate debt and fixed-rate assets with fixed-rate debt), directly or through the use of interest rate swap agreements or other financial instruments, or through a combination of these strategies. We expect these instruments will allow us to minimize, but not eliminate, the risk that we may have to refinance our liabilities before the maturities of our assets and to reduce the impact of changing interest rates on our earnings. When interest rates are high or financing is otherwise unavailable on a timely basis, our ability to make additional investments will be restricted and we may not be able to adequately diversify our portfolio. See Part I, Item 1A.

Risk Factors — Risks Associated with Debt Financing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.0 million in shares allocated to our distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”). In addition, we registered $247.0 million in shares of common stock under the DRIP (the “Initial DRIP Offering”) on December 19, 2013 and an additional $600.0 million in shares of common stock under the DRIP (the “Secondary DRIP Offering,” and together with the Initial DRIP Offering, the “DRIP Offerings,” and the DRIP Offerings collectively with the Initial Offering, the “Offerings”) on August 2, 2016. We continue to issue shares of common stock under the Secondary DRIP Offering. As of December 31, 2023, we had issued approximately $471.3 million in shares of common stock under the Secondary DRIP Offering.Net Asset ValueOur Board establishes an estimated per share net asset value (“NAV”) of the Company’s common stock for purposes of assisting broker-dealers in meeting their customer account statement reporting obligations under Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Rule 2231. As of December 31, 2023, the estimated per share NAV of our common stock was $6.31, which was established by the Board on November 9, 2023 using a valuation date of September 30, 2023. Effective on March 1, 2024, the Board established an updated estimated per share NAV of our common stock, using a valuation date of January 31, 2024, of $6.09 per share. Commencing on March 1, 2024, distributions are reinvested in shares of our common stock under the DRIP at a price of $6.09 per share and $6.09 per share serves as the most recent estimated per share NAV for purposes of the share redemption program. See Part II, Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities — Share Redemption Program in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our share redemption program.Conflicts of InterestWe are subject to various conflicts of interest arising out of our relationship with CMFT Management and its affiliates, including conflicts related to the arrangements pursuant to which we compensate CMFT Management and its affiliates.In considering the priority of an investment for an entity, the Allocation Committee may consider, among other factors, whether:•the investment opportunity is contiguous or proximate to an existing investment;•the investment opportunity is being made in conjunction with the strategic expansion plans of an existing investment;•the investment opportunity is being pursued with a sponsor/partner that is also a sponsor/partner in an existing investment;•There are economic ties/relationships between the investment opportunity and an existing investment; and•the size and/or product type of the investment opportunity enhances existing diversification within the entity’s portfolio. We may enter into certain transactions with CMFT Management or its affiliates, including other real estate programs managed by CIM, which are subject to inherent conflicts of interest. Similarly, joint ventures involving affiliates of CMFT Management also give rise to conflicts of interest. In addition, our Board may encounter conflicts of interest in enforcing our rights against any affiliate of CMFT Management in the event of a default by or disagreement with an affiliate or in invoking powers, rights or options pursuant to any agreement between us and CMFT Management, any of its affiliates or another real estate program sponsored by affiliates of CIM.Fees and Other Compensation paid to CMFT Management and Its AffiliatesWe have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, fees and expenses payable to CMFT Management and its affiliates in connection with the management of our assets. Management Agreement. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, in connection with the services provided by our manager, our manager receives a management fee, payable quarterly in arrears, equal to the greater of (a) $250,000 per annum ($62,500 per quarter) and (b) 1.50% per annum (0.375% per quarter) of the Company’s Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement). In addition, our manager shall receive Incentive Compensation (as defined in the Management Agreement), payable with respect to each quarter, which is generally equal to the excess of (a) the product of (i) 20% and (ii) the excess of (A) Core Earnings (as defined in the Management Agreement) of the Company for the previous 12-month period, over (B) the product of (1) the Company’s Consolidated Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement) in the previous 12-month period, and (2) 7% per annum, over (b) the sum of any Incentive Compensation paid to our manager with respect to the first three calendar quarters of such previous 12-month period (or such lesser number of completed calendar quarters preceding the applicable period, if applicable). If the Management Agreement is terminated without cause, the manager shall receive a termination fee equal to three times the sum of (a) the average annual management fee and (b) the average annual Incentive Compensation during the 24-month period prior to the termination. Investment Advisory and Management Agreement. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, our Investment Advisor shall receive an investment advisory fee (the “Investment Advisory Fee”), payable quarterly in arrears, equal to 1.50% per annum (0.375% per quarter) of CMFT Securities’ Equity (as defined in the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement). Because the assets that are managed by our Investment Advisor are excluded from the calculation of Management Fees payable by the Company to our manager under the Management Agreement, the total management and advisory fees payable by us to our external advisors are not increased as a result of entering into the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, CMFT Securities will reimburse the Investment Advisor for costs and expenses incurred by the Investment Advisor on its behalf. If the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement is terminated without cause by CMFT Securities, the Investment Advisor shall receive a termination fee equal to three times the sum of (a) the average annual Investment Advisory Fee and (b) the average annual Securities Manager Incentive Compensation, as that term is defined in the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, during the 24-month period prior to the termination. CMFT Securities is not required to pay the termination fee if the Investment Advisor terminates the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, or if the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement is terminated for cause.On a quarterly basis, the Investment Advisor shall designate 50% of the sum of its Investment Advisory Fee and any incentive compensation payable to the Investment Advisor, as described above, as sub-advisory fees. The sub-advisory fees shall be paid by our Investment Advisor ratably, as determined pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, to the Sub-Advisor and any other sub-advisers that provide services to CMFT Securities. Either party may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement with 30 days’ prior written notice to the other party.Human Capital ResourcesWe are operated by affiliates of CIM and have no direct employees. We have entered into the Management Agreement with CMFT Management, and the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement with our Investment Advisor, pursuant to which CMFT Management has agreed to provide, or arrange for other service providers to provide, management and administrative services to us and our subsidiaries, and our Investment Advisor has agreed to provide investment advisory services to CMFT Securities for the assets it manages. Several other REITs and other investment vehicles have raised significant amounts of capital, and may have investment objectives that overlap with ours, which may create additional competition for lending and investment opportunities. Some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources, such as the U.S. Government, that are not available to us. Many of our competitors are not subject to the operating constraints associated with REIT compliance or maintenance of an exclusion from regulation under the Investment Company Act. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of loans and investments, offer more attractive pricing or other terms and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, competition for originations of and investments in our target assets may lead to the yields of such assets decreasing, which may further limit our ability to generate satisfactory returns. Regarding the leasing efforts of our owned properties, the leasing of real estate is highly competitive in the current market, and we may continue to experience competition for tenants from owners and managers of competing projects. As a result, we may have to provide free rent, incur charges for tenant improvements, or offer other inducements, or we might not be able to timely lease the space, all of which may have an adverse impact on our results of operations. At the time we elect to dispose of our properties, we may also be in competition with sellers of similar properties to locate suitable purchasers for our properties. See the section captioned “— Conflicts of Interest” above.

Available InformationWe electronically file our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports with the SEC. We also file registration statements, amendments to our registration statements, and/or supplements to our prospectus in connection with any of our offerings with the SEC.cimgroup.com, free of charge.

The information on our sponsor’s website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Copies of our filings with the SEC may also be obtained from the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov. Access to these filings is free of charge.ITEM 1A.

If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected, and stockholders may lose all or part of their investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. For this and other reasons, an investment in our shares is speculative. •There is no public trading market for our common stock, and there may never be one because, while we intend to pursue a listing of our common stock on a national securities exchange, we cannot make assurances that such a listing will occur, and we are not required to provide for a liquidity event. •Our estimated per share NAV is an estimate as of a given point in time and likely will not represent the amount of net proceeds that would result if we were liquidated or dissolved or completed a merger or other sale.•We may be unable to pay or maintain cash distributions or increase distributions over time.Risks Associated with Our Credit Segment•Investing in mortgage, bridge or mezzanine loans could adversely affect our return on our loan investments. •We are subject to risks relating to real estate-related securities, including CMBS.•We operate in a highly competitive market for lending and investment opportunities, which may limit our ability to originate or acquire desirable loans and investments in our target assets.•Commercial real estate-related investments that are secured, directly or indirectly, by real property are subject to delinquency, foreclosure and loss, which could result in losses to us.Risks Associated with Our Real Estate Segment•Adverse economic, regulatory and geographic conditions that have an impact on the real estate market in general may prevent us from being profitable or from realizing growth in the value of our real estate properties and could have a significant negative impact on us.•We are dependent on single-tenant leases for our revenue and, accordingly, if we are unable to renew leases, lease vacant space, including vacant space resulting from tenant defaults, or re-lease space as leases expire on favorable terms or at all, our financial condition could be adversely affected.•We have assumed, and in the future may assume, liabilities in connection with our property acquisitions, including unknown liabilities.•Income from our long-term leases is an important source of our cash flow from operations and is subject to risks related to increases in expenses and inflation.•Our officers, certain of our directors and our manager, including its personnel and officers, face conflicts of interest related to the positions they hold with affiliated and unaffiliated entities. Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure •Our stockholders’ interest in us will be diluted if we issue additional shares.•The limit on the percentage of shares of our common stock that any person may own may discourage a takeover or business combination that may benefit our stockholders. Risks Associated with Debt Financing •We have incurred mortgage indebtedness and other borrowings, which may increase our business risks, hinder our ability to make distributions, and decrease the value of our stockholders’ investment.•Lenders may require us to enter into restrictive covenants relating to our operations, which could limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. U.S. Federal Income and Other Tax Risks •Failure to maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. •We could be subject to a material tax liability if our sales of properties are treated as prohibited transactions.•To maintain our REIT status, we may have to borrow funds on a short-term basis during unfavorable market conditions.•Compliance with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities, which may hinder or delay our ability to meet our investment objectives and reduce our stockholders’ overall return. For this and other reasons, an investment in our shares is speculative.We intend to identify additional credit investments, properties and other real estate-related assets in which to invest. We have established policies relating to the types of assets we will acquire and the creditworthiness of tenants of our properties or other investment opportunities, but our manager has wide discretion in implementing these policies, subject to the oversight of our Board. As a result, you will not be able to evaluate the economic merit of our future investments until after such investments have been made. Therefore, an investment in our shares is speculative. To be successful in this market, we and our manager must, among other things:•identify and make investments that further our investment objectives; •rely on our manager and its affiliates to attract, integrate, motivate and retain qualified personnel to manage our day-to-day operations; •respond to competition for our targeted credit investments, real estate and other assets; •rely on our manager and its affiliates to continue to build and expand our operations structure to support our business; and •be continuously aware of, and interpret, marketing trends and conditions.We may not succeed in achieving these goals, and our failure to do so could cause our stockholders to lose all or a portion of their investment.Our common stock is not currently publicly traded, and while we intend to pursue a listing of our common stock on a national securities exchange, we cannot make assurances that such a listing will occur. In addition, we do not have a fixed date or method for providing stockholders with liquidity. We expect that our Board will make that determination in the future based, in part, upon advice from our manager. If our stockholders are able to find a buyer for their shares, our stockholders will likely have to sell them at a substantial discount to the most recent estimated per share NAV of our common stock of $6. It also is likely that our common stock will not be accepted as the primary collateral for a loan. Therefore, shares of our common stock should be considered illiquid and a long-term investment, and our stockholders must be prepared to hold their shares of our common stock for an indefinite length of time.Our stockholders are limited in their ability to sell their shares pursuant to our share redemption program and may have to hold their shares for an indefinite period of time.Our share redemption program allows our stockholders to sell shares of our common stock to us in limited circumstances, subject to numerous restrictions. Subject to funds being available, we generally limit the number of shares redeemed pursuant to our share redemption program to no more than 5% of the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the trailing 12 months prior to the end of the fiscal quarter for which the redemption is being paid. In addition, we intend to limit quarterly redemptions to approximately 1.25% of the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the trailing 12-month period ending on the last day of the fiscal quarter, and funding for redemptions for each quarter generally is limited to the net proceeds we receive from the sale of shares in the respective quarter under the DRIP. Any of the foregoing limits might prevent us from accommodating all redemption requests made in any fiscal quarter or in any 12-month period. During the past 28 quarters, excluding those when the suspension of the share redemption program was in effect, quarterly redemptions were honored on a pro rata basis, as requests for redemption exceeded the quarterly redemption limits described above. The Board may amend the terms of, suspend, or terminate our share redemption program without stockholder approval at any time if it believes that such action is in the best interest of our stockholders, and our management may reject any request for redemption. These restrictions severely limit our stockholders’ ability to sell their shares should they require liquidity and limit our stockholders’ ability to recover the amount they invested or the fair market value of their shares. Our estimated per share NAV is an estimate as of a given point in time and likely will not represent the amount of net proceeds that would result if we were liquidated or dissolved or completed a merger or other sale. The methodology used by our Board in reaching an estimated per share NAV of our common stock is based upon a number of estimates, assumptions, judgments and opinions that may, or may not, prove to be correct. The use of different estimates, assumptions, judgments or opinions may have resulted in significantly different estimates of the per share NAV of our common stock. Also, the estimated per share NAV of our common stock reflects an estimate as of a given point in time and will fluctuate over time as a result of, among other things, developments related to individual assets and changes in the real estate and capital markets. Furthermore, in reaching an estimate of the per share NAV of our common stock, our Board did not include, among other things, a discount for debt that may include a prepayment obligation or a provision precluding assumption of the debt by a third party.There are currently no SEC, federal or state rules that establish requirements specifying the methodology that we must employ in determining an estimated per share NAV. However, in accordance with the rules of FINRA, the determination of the estimated per share NAV of our common stock must be conducted by, or with the material assistance or confirmation of, a third-party valuation expert and must be derived from a methodology that conforms to standard industry practice. We may be unable to pay or maintain cash distributions or increase distributions over time.There are many factors that can affect the availability and timing of cash distributions to our stockholders. Distributions are based primarily on cash flows from operations. The amount of cash available for distributions is affected by many factors, such as the performance of our manager in selecting investments for us to make, selecting tenants for our properties and securing financing arrangements, our ability to make investments, the amount of income we receive from our investments, and our 15Table of Contentsoperating expense levels, as well as many other variables. We may not always be in a position to pay distributions to our stockholders and any distributions we do make may not increase over time. In addition, our actual results may differ significantly from the assumptions used by our Board in establishing the distribution rate to our stockholders. There also is a risk that we may not have sufficient cash flows from operations to fund distributions required to maintain our REIT status.We have paid, and may continue to pay, some of our distributions from sources other than cash flows from operations, including borrowings and proceeds from asset sales, which may reduce the amount of capital we ultimately deploy in our operations and may negatively impact the value of our common stock. To the extent that cash flows from operations have been or are insufficient to fully cover our distributions to our stockholders, we have paid, and may continue to pay, some of our distributions from sources other than cash flows from operations. Such sources may include borrowings, proceeds from asset sales or the sale of our securities. We have no limits on the amounts we may use to pay distributions from sources other than cash flows from operations. This may negatively impact the value of our common stock.Because the amount we pay in distributions may exceed our earnings and our cash flows from operations, distributions may not reflect the current performance of our assets or our current operating cash flows. To the extent distributions exceed cash flows from operations, distributions may be treated as a return of our stockholders’ investment and could reduce their basis in our common stock. A reduction in a stockholder’s basis in our common stock could result in the stockholder recognizing more gain upon the disposition of his or her shares, which, in turn, could result in greater taxable income to such stockholder. For more information regarding the sources of distributions for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, see Part II, Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.The declaration, amount and payment of future cash distributions on our common stock are subject to uncertainty.All distributions will be declared at the discretion of our Board and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, REIT distribution requirements, and other factors as our Board may deem relevant from time to time. Our Board is under no obligation or requirement to declare future distributions and will continue to assess our common stock distribution rate on an ongoing basis, as market conditions and our financial position continue to evolve. We cannot assure you that we will achieve results that will allow us to pay distributions on our common stock or that the level of distributions will be maintained or increased.We have experienced losses in the past, and we may experience additional losses in the future.We have experienced net losses in the past (calculated in accordance with GAAP), and we may not be profitable or realize growth in the value of our assets. Our ability to sustain profitability is uncertain and depends on the demand for, and value of, our portfolio of loans and properties. For a further discussion of our operational history and the factors affecting our losses, see Part II, Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. It may be difficult to accurately reflect material events that may impact the estimated per share NAV of our common stock between valuations and, accordingly, we may issue shares in our DRIP or redeem shares at too high or too low of a price.Our independent valuation firm calculates estimates of the market value of our principal real estate and real estate-related assets, and our Board determines the net value of our real estate and real estate-related assets and liabilities taking into consideration such estimates provided by the independent valuation firm. The Board is ultimately responsible for determining the estimated per share NAV of our common stock. As a result, the published estimated per share NAV may not fully reflect changes in value that may have occurred since the prior valuation.Furthermore, our manager monitors our portfolio, but it may be difficult to reflect changing market conditions or material events that may impact the value of our portfolio between valuations, or to obtain timely or complete information regarding any such events. As of December 31, 2023, the Board last established an updated estimated per share NAV of the Company’s shares as of September 30, 2023 on November 9, 2023. On February 29, 2024, the Board established an updated estimated per share NAV of the Company’s shares using a valuation date of January 31, 2024. If our manager loses or is unable to attract and retain key personnel, our ability to achieve our investment objectives could be delayed or hindered, which could adversely affect our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders and the value of their investment.Our success depends to a significant degree upon the contributions of certain executive officers and other key personnel of CIM and our manager. We cannot guarantee that all of these key personnel, or any particular person, will remain affiliated with us, CIM and/or our manager. If any of our key personnel were to cease their affiliation with our manager, our operating results could suffer. We believe that our future success depends, in large part, upon our manager’s ability to hire and retain highly skilled managerial, operational and marketing personnel. If our manager loses or is unable to obtain the services of key personnel, our ability to implement our investment strategies could be delayed or hindered, and the value of our stockholders’ investment may decline.If we seek to internalize our management functions in connection with a listing of our shares of common stock on an exchange or other liquidity event, our stockholders’ interest in us could be diluted, and we could incur other significant costs associated with being self-managed.In the future, we may undertake a listing of our common stock on an exchange or other liquidity event that may involve internalizing our management functions. At this time, we cannot be sure of the form or amount of consideration or other terms relating to any such acquisition. Such consideration could take many forms, including cash payments, promissory notes and shares of our common stock. The payment of such consideration could result in dilution of our stockholders’ interests and could reduce the net income per share attributable to their investment. Internalization transactions involving the acquisition of advisors affiliated with entity sponsors have also, in some cases, been the subject of litigation. Even if these claims are without merit, we could be forced to spend significant amounts of money defending claims, which would reduce the amount of funds available to operate our business and to pay distributions. We would also incur the compensation and benefits costs of our officers and other employees and consultants that we now expect will be paid by our manager or its affiliates. If the expenses we assume as a result of an internalization are higher than the expenses we avoid paying to our manager, our net income per share would be lower as a result of the internalization than it otherwise would have been, potentially decreasing the amount of funds available to distribute to our stockholders and the value of our shares.If we internalize our management functions, we could have difficulty integrating these functions as a stand-alone entity and we may fail to properly identify the appropriate mix of personnel and capital needed to operate as a stand-alone entity. Additionally, upon any internalization of our manager, certain key personnel may not remain with our manager, but will instead remain employees of CIM.We, our manager, our transfer agent and other parties that provide us with services essential to our operations are vulnerable to service interruptions or damages from any number of sources, including computer viruses, malware, unauthorized access, energy blackouts, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication failures. Any system failure or accident that causes interruptions in our operations could result in a material disruption to our business. A cyber incident is considered to be any adverse event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information resources. These incidents may be an intentional attack or an unintentional event and could involve gaining unauthorized access to our information systems for purposes of misappropriating assets, stealing confidential information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyberattacks or cyber intrusions, including by computer hackers, nation-state affiliated actors, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased, and will likely continue to increase in the future. Such 17Table of Contentsthreats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer “hackers”, threat actors, “hacktivists”, organized criminal threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation states, and nation-state-supported actors. Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyberattacks, including, without limitation, nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we and the third-party service providers upon which we rely may be vulnerable to heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory cyberattacks. The result of these incidents may include disrupted operations, misstated or unreliable financial data, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection and insurance costs, litigation and damage to our tenant and stockholder relationships. As we and the parties that provide essential services to us increase our and their reliance on technology, the risks posed to the information systems of such persons have also increased. We have implemented processes, procedures and internal controls to help mitigate cyber incidents, but these measures do not guarantee that a cyber incident will not occur or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. A cyber incident could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions on common stock. There also may be liability for any stolen assets or misappropriated Company funds or confidential information. Any material adverse effect experienced by our manager, our transfer agent and other parties that provide us with services essential to our operations could, in turn, have an adverse impact on us.Remote work has become more common among the employees and personnel of our manager and other third-party service providers and has increased risks to the information technology systems and confidential, proprietary and sensitive data of our manager and other third-party service providers as more of those employees utilize network connections, computers and devices outside of the employer’s premises or network, including working at home, while in transit, and in public locations. Those employees working remotely could expose our manager and other third-party service providers to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities as their systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in external systems and technologies outside of their control.If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results.An effective system of internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports, prevent fraud and operate successfully as a public company. As part of our ongoing monitoring of internal controls, we may discover material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls that we believe require remediation. If we discover such weaknesses, we will make efforts to improve our internal controls in a timely manner. Any system of internal controls, however well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and can only provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system are met. Any failure to maintain effective internal controls, or implement any necessary improvements in a timely manner, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions on our common stock, or cause us to not meet our reporting obligations. Ineffective internal controls could also cause holders of our securities to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which would likely have a negative effect on our business.Risks Associated with Our Credit SegmentInvesting in mortgage, bridge or mezzanine loans could adversely affect our return on our loan investments. If there are defaults under these loans, we may not be able to repossess and sell quickly any properties securing such loans. An action to foreclose on a property securing a loan is regulated by state statutes and regulations and is subject to many of the delays and expenses of any lawsuit brought in connection with the foreclosure if the defendant raises defenses or counterclaims. In the event of default by a mortgagor, these restrictions, among other things, may impede our ability to foreclose on or sell the mortgaged property or to obtain proceeds sufficient to repay all amounts due to us on the loan, which could reduce the value of our investment in the defaulted loan. We are subject to risks relating to real estate-related securities, including CMBS.Real estate-related securities are often unsecured and also may be subordinated to other obligations of the issuer. These risks may adversely affect the value of outstanding real estate-related securities and the ability of the obliged parties to repay principal and interest or make distribution payments.CMBS are securities that evidence interests in, or are secured by, a single commercial mortgage loan or a pool of commercial mortgage loans. Accordingly, these securities are subject to the risks above and all of the risks of the underlying mortgage loans. CMBS are issued by investment banks and non-regulated financial institutions and are not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. government. The value of CMBS may change due to shifts in the market’s perception of issuers and regulatory or tax changes adversely affecting the mortgage securities market as a whole and may be negatively impacted by any dislocation in the mortgage-backed securities market in general.CMBS are also subject to several risks created through the securitization process. Subordinate CMBS are paid interest only to the extent that there are funds available to make payments. To the extent the collateral pool includes delinquent loans, there is a risk that interest payments on subordinate CMBS will not be fully paid. Subordinate CMBS are also subject to greater credit risk than those CMBS that are more highly rated. In certain instances, third-party guarantees or other forms of credit support can reduce the credit risk.Mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other investments that are subordinated or otherwise junior in an issuer’s capital structure involve greater risks of loss than first mortgage loans.We may continue to invest in mezzanine loans, which sometimes take the form of subordinated loans secured by second mortgages on the underlying property or more commonly take the form of loans secured by a pledge of the ownership interests of either the entity owning the property or a pledge of the ownership interests of the entity that owns the interest in the entity owning the property. These types of assets involve a higher degree of risk than long‑term senior mortgage lending secured by income‑producing real property because the loan may become unsecured as a result of foreclosure by the senior lender. In the event of a bankruptcy of the entity providing the pledge of its ownership interests as security, we may not have full recourse to the assets of such entity, or the assets of the entity may not be sufficient to satisfy our mezzanine loan. If a borrower defaults on our mezzanine loan or debt senior to our loan, or in the event of a borrower bankruptcy, our mezzanine loan will be satisfied only after the senior debt. As a result, we may not recover some or all of our investment. Significant losses related to our mezzanine loans would result in operating losses for us and may limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.We have also made, and may continue to make, preferred equity investments, which involve a higher degree of risk than conventional debt financing due to a variety of factors, including their non-collateralized nature and subordinated ranking to other loans and liabilities of the entity in which such preferred equity is held. Accordingly, if the issuer defaults on our investment, we would only be able to proceed against such entity in accordance with the terms of the preferred security and not against any property owned by such entity. Furthermore, in the event of bankruptcy or foreclosure, we would only be able to recoup our investment after all lenders to, and other creditors of, such entity are paid in full. As a result, we may lose all or a significant part of our investment, which could result in significant losses.Bridge loans involve a greater risk of loss than traditional mortgage loans on stabilized properties. We may originate or acquire bridge loans secured by first lien mortgages on a property to borrowers who are typically seeking short-term capital to be used in an acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of a property, or other short-term liquidity needs. The typical borrower under a bridge loan has usually identified an undervalued asset that has been under-managed and/or is located in a recovering market. If the market in which the asset is located fails to recover according to the borrower’s projections, or if the borrower fails to improve the quality of the asset’s management and/or the value of the asset, the borrower may not receive a sufficient return on the asset to satisfy the bridge loan, and we bear the risk that we may not recover some or all of our initial expenditure.In addition, borrowers usually use the proceeds of a conventional mortgage to repay a bridge loan. A bridge loan therefore is subject to the risk of a borrower’s inability to obtain permanent financing to repay the bridge loan. Bridge loans are also subject to risks of borrower defaults, bankruptcies, fraud, losses and special hazard losses that are not covered by standard hazard insurance. In the event of any default under bridge loans held by us, we bear the risk of loss of principal and non-payment of interest and fees to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the mortgage collateral and the principal amount and unpaid interest of the bridge loan. To the extent we suffer such losses with respect to our bridge loans, the value of our company and the price of our shares of common stock may be adversely affected.We have invested in, and will continue to seek to invest in, debt instruments relating to real estate-related assets. As such, we are subject to, among other things, risk of defaults by borrowers in paying debt service on outstanding indebtedness and to other impairments of our loans and investments. Any deterioration of real estate fundamentals could negatively impact our performance by making it more difficult for borrowers of our mortgage loans, or borrower entities, to satisfy their debt payment obligations, increasing the default risk applicable to borrower entities, and/or making it more difficult for us to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns. Changes in general economic conditions will affect the creditworthiness of borrower entities and/or the value of underlying real estate collateral relating to our investments and may include economic and/or market fluctuations, changes in environmental, zoning and other laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, decreases in property values, changes in the appeal of properties to tenants, changes in supply and demand, fluctuations in real estate fundamentals, the financial resources of borrower entities, energy supply shortages, various uninsured or uninsurable risks, natural disasters, political events, terrorism and acts of war, changes in government regulations, changes in real property tax rates and/or tax credits, changes in operating expenses, changes in interest rates, changes in inflation rates, changes in the availability of debt financing and/or mortgage funds which may render the sale or refinancing of properties difficult or impracticable, increased mortgage defaults, increases in borrowing rates, negative developments in the economy and/or adverse changes in real estate values generally and other factors that are beyond our control.We cannot predict the degree to which economic conditions generally, and the conditions for real estate debt investing in particular, will improve or decline. Any declines in the performance of the U.S. and global economies or in the real estate debt markets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.Commercial real estate-related investments that are secured, directly or indirectly, by real property are subject to delinquency, foreclosure and loss, which could result in losses to us. We may find it necessary or desirable to foreclose on certain of the loans that we originate or acquire or CMBS that we acquire, and the foreclosure process may be lengthy and expensive. We may find it necessary or desirable to foreclose on certain of the loans or CMBS that we acquire, and the foreclosure process may be lengthy and expensive. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by an income-producing property typically is dependent primarily upon the successful operation of the property rather than upon the existence of independent income or assets of the borrower. If the net operating income of the property is reduced, the borrower’s ability to repay the loan may be impaired. The protection of the terms of the applicable loan, including the validity or enforceability of the loan and the maintenance of the anticipated priority and perfection of the applicable security interests may not be adequate. Furthermore, claims may be 20Table of Contentsasserted by lenders or borrowers that might interfere with enforcement of our rights. In some states, foreclosure actions can take several years or more to litigate. At any time prior to or during the foreclosure proceedings, the borrower may file for bankruptcy or its equivalent, which would have the effect of staying the foreclosure actions and further delaying the foreclosure process and potentially result in a reduction or discharge of a borrower’s debt. Foreclosure may create a negative public perception of the related property, resulting in a diminution of its value, and in the event of any such foreclosure or other similar real estate owned-proceeding, we would also become subject to the various risks associated with direct ownership of real estate, including environmental liabilities. Even if we are successful in foreclosing on a loan, the liquidation proceeds upon sale of the underlying real estate may not be sufficient to recover our cost basis in the loan, resulting in a loss to us. Furthermore, any costs or delays involved in the foreclosure of the loan or a liquidation of the underlying property will further reduce the net proceeds and, thus, increase the loss.Provisions for credit losses are difficult to estimate. Our credit loss provision is evaluated on a quarterly basis. The determination of such provision requires us to make certain estimates and judgments, which may be difficult to determine. Our estimates and judgments may not be correct and, therefore, our results of operations and financial condition could be severely impacted.Under Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses—Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Topic 326), we are required to provide allowances for credit losses on certain financial assets carried at amortized cost, such as loans held-for-investment and held-to-maturity debt securities, including related future funding commitments and accrued interest receivable. The measurement of expected credit losses is to be based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. This measurement takes place at the time the financial asset is first added to the balance sheet and updated quarterly thereafter. This differs significantly from the “incurred loss” model previously required under GAAP, which delayed recognition until it was probable a loss had been incurred. Accordingly, the current expected credit losses (“CECL”) model creates more volatility in the level of our credit loss provisions. If we are required to materially increase our future level of credit loss allowances for any reason, such increase could adversely affect our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.We operate in a highly competitive market for lending and investment opportunities, which may limit our ability to originate or acquire desirable loans and investments in our target assets.A number of entities compete with us to make the types of loans and investments that we seek to make. Our profitability depends, in large part, on our ability to originate or acquire target assets at attractive prices. In originating or acquiring target assets, we compete with a variety of institutional lenders and investors and many other market participants, including specialty finance companies, REITs, commercial banks and thrift institutions, investment banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and other financial institutions. Many competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do. Some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that may not be available to us. Many of our competitors are not subject to the maintenance of an exemption from the Investment Company Act. Furthermore, competition for originations of, and investments in, our target assets may lead to the yield of such assets decreasing, which may further limit our ability to generate desired returns. Also, as a result of this competition, desirable loans and investments in specific types of target assets may be limited in the future and we may not be able to take advantage of attractive lending and investment opportunities from time to time. We can offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and originate loans or make any or all of the types of investments that are described herein.Our control over certain loans and investments may be limited.Our ability to manage our portfolio of loans and investments may be limited by the form in which they are made. Such financial assets may involve risks not present in investments where senior creditors, junior creditors, servicers, third-party controlling investors or CIM-sponsored investment vehicles are not involved. A partner or co-venturer may have financial difficulties, resulting in a negative impact on such asset, may have economic or business interests or goals that are inconsistent with ours, or may be in a position to take action contrary to our investment objectives. In addition, we will generally pay all or a portion of the expenses relating to our joint ventures and we may, in certain circumstances, be liable for the actions of our partners or co-venturers.Our secured debt agreements impose, and additional lending facilities may impose, restrictive covenants, which may restrict our flexibility to determine our operating policies and investment strategy.We are party to various secured debt agreements with various counterparties. In particular, these agreements require us, and future similar agreements may require us, to maintain specified minimum levels of borrowing capacity under the credit facilities and cash. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our assets as fully as we would otherwise choose, which could reduce our return on assets. Further, this could also make it difficult for us to satisfy the distribution requirements necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we are unable to meet these collateral obligations, our financial condition and prospects could deteriorate significantly. In addition, lenders may require that our manager or one or more of our manager’s executives continue to serve in such capacity. If we fail to meet or satisfy any of these covenants, we would be in default under these agreements, and our lenders could elect to declare outstanding amounts due and payable, terminate their commitments, require the posting of additional collateral and enforce their interests against existing collateral. It is possible that we will fail to identify reinvestment options that would provide a yield and/or a risk profile that is comparable to the asset that was repaid or redeemed. Subordinate interests such as CMBS and similar structured finance investments generally are not actively traded and are relatively illiquid investments. Volatility in CMBS trading markets may cause the value of these investments to decline. In addition, if the underlying mortgage portfolio has been overvalued by the originator, or if the values subsequently decline and, as a result, less collateral value is available to satisfy interest and principal payments and any other fees in connection with the trust or other conduit arrangement for such securities, we may incur significant losses.Prepayment rates may adversely affect our financial performance and cash flows and the value of certain of our investments.Our mortgage loan borrowers may be able to repay their loans prior to their stated maturities. In periods of declining interest rates and/or credit spreads, prepayment rates on loans generally increase. If general interest rates or credit spreads decline at the same time, the proceeds of such prepayments received during such periods may not be reinvested for some period of time or may be reinvested by us in comparable assets yielding less than the yields on the assets that were prepaid.When mortgage loans are not originated or acquired at a premium to par value, prepayment rates do not materially affect the value of such loan assets. However, the value of certain other assets may be affected by prepayment rates. For example, if we acquire fixed rate CRE debt securities investments or other fixed rate mortgage-related securities, or a pool of such fixed rate mortgage-related securities, we anticipate that the mortgage loans underlying these fixed rate securities will prepay at a projected rate generating an expected yield. If we were to purchase these securities at a premium to par value, when borrowers prepay the mortgage loans underlying these securities faster than expected, the increase in corresponding prepayments on these securities will likely reduce the expected yield. In addition, if we were to purchase these securities at a discount to par value, when borrowers prepay the mortgage loans underlying these securities faster than expected, the increase in corresponding prepayments on these securities will likely increase the expected yield.Prepayment rates on floating rate and fixed rate loans may differ in different interest rate environments, and may be affected by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the availability of mortgage credit, the relative economic vitality of the area in which the related properties are located, the servicing of the loans, possible changes in tax laws, other opportunities for investment, and other economic, social, geographic, demographic and legal factors, all of which are beyond our control, and structural factors such as call protection. Consequently, such prepayment rates cannot be predicted with certainty and no strategy can completely insulate us from prepayment risk.We are subject to additional risks associated with investments in the form of loan participation interests. Accordingly, we will not be in privity of contract with a borrower because the other lender or participant is the record holder of the loan and, therefore, we will not have any direct right to any underlying collateral for the loan. These loan participations may be senior, pari passu or junior to the interests of the other lender or lenders in respect of distributions from the commercial mortgage loan. Furthermore, we may not be able to control the pursuit of any rights or remedies under the commercial mortgage loan, including enforcement proceedings in the event of default thereunder. In certain cases, the original lender or another participant may be able to take actions in respect of the commercial mortgage loan that are not in our best interests. In addition, in the event that (1) the owner of the loan participation interest does not have the benefit of a perfected security interest in the lender’s rights to payments from the borrower under the commercial mortgage loan or (2) there are substantial differences between the terms of the commercial mortgage loan and those of the applicable loan participation interest, such loan participation interest could be recharacterized as an unsecured loan to a lender that is the record holder of the loan in such lender’s bankruptcy, and the assets of such lender may not be sufficient to satisfy the terms of such loan participation interest.If the loans that we originate or acquire do not comply with applicable laws, we may be subject to penalties, which could materially and adversely affect us.Loans that we originate or acquire may be directly or indirectly subject to foreign or U.S. federal, state or local governmental laws. Real estate lenders and borrowers may be responsible for compliance with a wide range of laws intended to protect the public interest, including, without limitation, the Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, Fair Housing and Americans with Disabilities Acts and local zoning laws (including, but not limited to, zoning laws that allow permitted non-conforming uses). If we or any other person fails to comply with such laws in relation to a loan that we have originated or acquired, legal penalties may be imposed, which could materially and adversely affect us. Additionally, jurisdictions with “one action,” “security first” and/or “antideficiency rules” may limit our ability to foreclose on a real property or to realize on obligations secured by a real property. In the future, new laws may be enacted or imposed by U.S. federal, state or local governmental entities, and such laws could have a material adverse effect on us.Investments in non-conforming and non-investment grade rated loans or securities involve increased risk of loss. Many of our investments do not conform to conventional loan standards applied by traditional lenders and either are not rated or rated as non-investment grade by the rating agencies. The non-investment grade credit ratings for these assets typically result from the overall leverage of the loans, the lack of a strong operating history for the properties underlying the loans, the borrowers’ credit history, the properties’ underlying cash flow or other factors. As a result, these investments have a higher risk of default and loss than investment grade rated assets. Any loss we incur may be significant and may reduce distributions to our stockholders and adversely affect the market value of our common stock. There are no limits on the percentage of unrated or non-investment grade rated assets we may hold in our investment portfolio.Any credit ratings assigned to our investments are subject to ongoing evaluations and revisions and we cannot assure you that those ratings will not be downgraded. Some of our investments are rated by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Fitch Ratings, Inc., S&P Global Ratings, DBRS, Inc. or Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc. Any credit ratings on our investments are subject to ongoing evaluation by credit rating agencies, and we cannot assure you that any such ratings will not be changed or withdrawn by a rating agency in the future if, in its judgment, circumstances warrant.Our commercial construction lending may expose us to increased lending risks.Construction loans generally expose a lender to greater risk of non‑payment and loss than permanent commercial mortgage loans because repayment of the loans often depends on the borrower’s ability to secure permanent take‑out financing, which requires the successful completion of construction and stabilization of the project, or operation of the property with an income stream sufficient to meet operating expenses, including debt service on such replacement financing. For construction loans, increased risks include the accuracy of the estimate of the property’s value at completion of construction and the estimated cost of construction, all of which may be affected by unanticipated construction delays and cost over‑runs. Such loans typically involve an expectation that the borrower’s sponsors will contribute sufficient equity funds in order to keep the loan in balance, and the sponsors’ failure or inability to meet this obligation could result in delays in construction or an inability to complete construction. Commercial construction loans also expose the lender to additional risks of contractor non‑performance, or borrower disputes with contractors resulting in mechanic’s or materialmen’s liens on the property and possible further delay in construction. In addition, since such loans generally entail greater risk than mortgage loans on income producing property, we may need to increase our allowance for loan losses in the future to account for the likely increase in probable incurred credit losses associated with such loans. Further, as the lender under a construction loan, we may be obligated to fund all or a significant portion of the loan at one or more future dates. We may not have the funds available at such future date(s) to meet our funding obligations under the loan. In that event, we would likely be in breach of the loan unless we are able to raise the funds from alternative sources, which we may not be able to achieve on favorable terms or at all. In addition, many of our construction loans have multiple lenders and if another lender fails to fund we could be faced with the choice of either funding for that defaulting lender or suffering a delay or protracted interruption in the progress of construction.Risks Associated with Our Real Estate SegmentAdverse economic, regulatory and geographic conditions that have an impact on the real estate market in general may prevent us from being profitable or from realizing growth in the value of our real estate properties, and could have a significant negative impact on us. During periods of economic slowdown, rising interest rates or declining demand for real estate, or the public perception that any of these events may occur, could result in a general decline in rents or an increased incidence of defaults under existing leases. If we cannot operate our properties so as to meet our financial expectations, because of these or other risks, we may be prevented from being profitable or growing the values of our real estate properties, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions to our stockholders may be significantly negatively impacted.We are dependent on single-tenant leases for a substantial portion of our revenue and, accordingly, if we are unable to renew leases, lease vacant space, including vacant space resulting from tenant defaults, or re-lease space as leases expire on favorable terms or at all, our financial condition could be adversely affected.We focus our equity investment activities on ownership of primarily freestanding, single-tenant commercial properties that are net leased to a single tenant. Therefore, the financial failure of, or other default by, a significant tenant or multiple tenants could cause a material reduction in our revenues and operating cash flows. In addition, to the extent that we enter into a master lease with a particular tenant, the termination of such master lease could affect each property subject to the master lease, resulting in the loss of revenue from all such properties. Any of our properties that become vacant could be difficult to re-lease or sell. We have experienced and may continue to experience vacancies either by the default of a tenant under its lease or the expiration of one of our leases. We typically must incur all of the costs of ownership for a property that is vacant. Upon or pending the expiration of leases at our properties, we may be required to make rent or other concessions to tenants, or accommodate requests for renovations, remodeling and other improvements, in order to retain and attract tenants. Certain of our properties may be specifically suited to the particular needs of a tenant (e.g., a restaurant) and major renovations and expenditures may be required in order for us to re-lease the space for other uses. If we are unable to renew leases, lease vacant space, including vacant space resulting from tenant defaults, or re-lease space as leases expire on favorable terms or at all, our financial condition could be adversely affected.Any adverse change in the financial condition of a tenant with whom we may have a significant credit concentration now or in the future, or any downturn of the economy in any state or industry in which we may have a significant credit concentration now or in the future, could result in a material reduction of our cash flows or material losses to us.If a major tenant declares bankruptcy, we may be unable to collect balances due under relevant leases, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.The bankruptcy or insolvency of our tenants may adversely affect the income produced by our properties. Under bankruptcy law, a tenant cannot be evicted solely because of its bankruptcy and has the option to assume or reject any unexpired lease. If the tenant rejects the lease, any resulting claim we have for breach of the lease (excluding collateral securing the claim) will be treated as a general unsecured claim. Our claim against the bankrupt tenant for unpaid and future rent will be subject to a statutory cap that might be substantially less than the remaining rent actually owed under the lease, and it is unlikely that a bankrupt tenant that rejects its lease would pay in full amounts it owes us under the lease. Even if a lease is assumed and brought current, we still run the risk that a tenant could condition lease assumption on a restructuring of certain terms, including rent, that would have an adverse impact on us. Any shortfall resulting from the bankruptcy of one or more of our tenants could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions on our common stock.In addition, the financial failure of, or other default by, one or more of the tenants to whom we have exposure could have an adverse effect on the results of our operations. While we evaluate the creditworthiness of our tenants by reviewing available financial and other pertinent information, there can be no assurance that any tenant will be able to make timely rental payments or avoid defaulting under its lease. If any of our tenants’ businesses experience significant adverse changes, they may fail to make rental payments when due, close a number of stores, exercise early termination rights (to the extent such rights are available to the tenant) or declare bankruptcy. A default by a significant tenant or multiple tenants could cause a material reduction in our revenues and operating cash flows. In addition, if a tenant defaults, we may incur substantial costs in protecting our assets.If a sale-leaseback transaction is re-characterized in a tenant’s bankruptcy proceeding, our financial condition could be adversely affected.We may enter into sale-leaseback transactions, whereby we would purchase a property and then lease the same property back to the person from whom we purchased it. In the event of the bankruptcy of a tenant, a transaction structured as a sale-leaseback might be re-characterized as either a financing or a joint venture, either of which outcomes could adversely affect our financial condition, cash flows and the amount available for distributions to our stockholders.If the sale-leaseback were re-characterized as a financing, we would not be considered the owner of the property, and as a result would have the status of a creditor in relation to the tenant. In that event, we would no longer have the right to sell or encumber our ownership interest in the property. Instead, we would have a claim against the tenant for the amounts owed under the lease, with the claim arguably secured by the property. The tenant/debtor might have the ability to propose a plan restructuring the term, interest rate and amortization schedule of its outstanding balance. If confirmed by the bankruptcy court, we could be bound by the new terms, and prevented from foreclosing our lien on the property. If the sale-leaseback were re-characterized as a joint venture, we and our tenant could be treated as co-venturers with regard to the property. As a result, we could be held liable, under some circumstances, for debts incurred by the tenant relating to the property.We have in the past and may in the future significantly increase the size and/or change the mix of our portfolio of assets. We may be unable to successfully and efficiently integrate newly-acquired assets into our existing portfolio or otherwise effectively manage our assets or our growth effectively. In addition, increases in our portfolio of assets and/or changes in the mix of our assets may place significant demands on our manager’s administrative, operational, asset management, financial and other resources. Any failure to manage increases in size effectively could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.We have assumed, and in the future may assume, liabilities in connection with our property acquisitions, including unknown liabilities.In connection with the acquisition of properties, we may assume existing liabilities, some of which may have been unknown or unquantifiable at the time of the transaction. If the magnitude of such unknown liabilities is high, either singly or in the aggregate, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or maintain our level of distributions on our common stock.Challenging economic conditions could adversely affect vacancy rates, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to make distributions and the value of an investment in our shares.Challenging economic conditions, the availability and cost of credit, turmoil in the mortgage market, and declining real estate markets may contribute to increased vacancy rates in the commercial real estate sector. If we experience vacancy rates that are higher than historical vacancy rates, we may have to offer lower rental rates and greater tenant improvements or concessions than expected. Increased vacancies may have a greater impact on us, as compared to REITs with other investment strategies, as our investment approach relies on long-term leases in order to provide a relatively stable stream of income for our stockholders. As a result, increased vacancy rates could have the following negative effects on us:•the values of our commercial properties could decrease below the amount paid for such assets;•revenues from such properties could decrease due to low or no rental income during vacant periods, lower future rental rates and/or increase tenant improvement expenses or concessions; •ownership costs could increase;•revenues from such properties that secure loans could decrease, making it more difficult for us to meet our payment obligations; and/or•the resale value of such properties could decline.All of these factors could impair our ability to make distributions and decrease the value of an investment in our shares.Uninsured losses or losses in excess of our insurance coverage could materially adversely affect our financial condition and cash flows, and there can be no assurance as to future costs and the scope of coverage that may be available under insurance policies.We carry comprehensive liability, fire, extended coverage, and rental loss insurance covering all of the properties in our portfolio under one or more blanket insurance policies with policy specifications, limits and deductibles customarily carried for similar properties. In addition, we carry professional liability and directors’ and officers’ insurance, and cyber liability insurance. While we select policy specifications and insured limits that we believe are appropriate and adequate given the relative risk of loss, insurance coverages provided by tenants, the cost of the coverage and industry practice, there can be no assurance that we will not experience a loss that is uninsured or that exceeds policy limits. Our title insurance policies may not insure for the current aggregate market value of our portfolio, and we do not intend to increase our title insurance coverage as the market value of our portfolio increases.Further, we do not carry insurance for certain losses, including, but not limited to, losses caused by earthquakes, riots or acts of war because such losses may be either uninsurable or not economically insurable. If we experience a loss that is uninsured or which exceeds policy limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those properties. In addition, if the damaged properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we would continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties were irreparably damaged. If any one of these large insurance carriers were to become insolvent, we would be forced to replace the existing insurance coverage with another suitable carrier, and any outstanding claims would be at risk for collection. In such an event, we cannot be certain that we would be able to replace the coverage at similar or otherwise favorable terms. As a result of any of the situations described above, our financial condition and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected.We may be unable to secure funds for future leasing commissions, tenant improvements or capital needs, which could adversely impact our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders.When tenants do not renew their leases or otherwise vacate their space, we are typically required to expend substantial funds for leasing commissions, tenant improvements and tenant refurbishments to the vacated space in order to attract replacement tenants. In addition, although we expect that our leases with tenants will require tenants to pay routine property maintenance costs, we could be responsible for any major structural repairs, such as repairs to the foundation, exterior walls and rooftops. However, these sources of funding may not be available on attractive terms or at all, and we may be required to defer necessary improvements to a property, which may cause that property to suffer from a greater risk of obsolescence or a decline in value, or a greater risk of decreased operating cash flows as a result of fewer potential tenants being attracted to the property. If this happens, our assets may generate lower cash flows or decline in value, or both.Our properties may be subject to impairment charges.We routinely evaluate our real estate assets for impairment indicators. The judgment regarding the existence of impairment indicators is based on factors such as market conditions, tenant performance and lease structure. For example, the early termination of, or default under, a lease by a tenant may lead to an impairment charge. Since our real estate segment investment focus is on properties net leased to a single tenant, the financial failure of, or other default by, a single tenant under its lease may result in a significant impairment loss. If we determine that an impairment has occurred, we would be required to make a downward adjustment to the net carrying value of the property, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in the period in which the impairment charge is recorded. Management has recorded an impairment charge related to certain properties in the year ended December 31, 2023, and may record future impairments based on actual results and changes in circumstances. Negative developments in the real estate market may cause management to reevaluate the business and macro-economic assumptions used in its impairment analysis. Changes in management’s assumptions based on actual results may have a material impact on our financial statements.

See Note 3 — Fair Value Measurements to our consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our real estate impairment charges.We may obtain only limited warranties when we purchase a property and, as a result, have limited recourse in the event our due diligence did not identify issues that lower the value of the property.Properties are often sold on an “as is” condition and “where is” basis and “with all faults,” without any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use or purpose. In addition, purchase agreements may contain only limited warranties, representations and indemnifications that will only survive for a limited period after the closing of the sale. The purchase of properties with limited warranties increases the risk that we may lose some or all of our invested capital in the property.We may be unable to sell a property if or when we decide to do so, including as a result of uncertain market conditions.Real estate assets are, in general, relatively illiquid and may become even more illiquid during periods of economic downturn. As a result, we may not be able to sell our properties quickly or on favorable terms in response to changes in the economy or other conditions when it otherwise may be prudent to do so. In addition, certain significant expenditures generally do not change in response to economic or other conditions, including debt service obligations, real estate taxes, and operating and maintenance costs. This combination of variable revenue and relatively fixed expenditures may result, under certain market conditions, in reduced earnings. In addition, historically, during periods of increasing interest rates, real estate valuations have generally decreased as a result of rising capitalization rates, which tend to be positively correlated with interest rates. Consequently, prolonged periods of higher interest rates may negatively impact the valuation of our portfolio as well as lower sales proceeds from future dispositions. Further, as a result of the 100% prohibited transactions tax applicable to REITs, we intend to hold our properties for investment, rather than primarily for sale in the ordinary course of business, which may cause us to forgo or defer sales of properties that otherwise would be favorable. Therefore, we may be unable to adjust our portfolio promptly in response to economic, market or other conditions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions on our common stock.Some of our leases may not contain rental increases over time, or the rental increases may be less than the fair market rate at a future point in time.We expect to hold the various real properties we acquire until such time as we decide that a sale or other disposition is appropriate given our REIT status and business objectives. Our ability to dispose of properties on advantageous terms or at all depends on certain factors beyond our control, including competition from other sellers and the availability of attractive financing for potential buyers of our properties. We cannot predict the various market conditions affecting real estate assets which will exist at any particular time in the future. Due to the uncertainty of market conditions which may affect the disposition of our properties, we cannot assure our stockholders that we will be able to sell such properties at a profit or at all in the future. Accordingly, the extent to which our stockholders will receive cash distributions and realize potential appreciation on our real estate assets will depend upon fluctuating market conditions. Furthermore, we may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold. We cannot assure our stockholders that we will have funds available to correct such defects or to make such improvements.As of December 31, 2023, approximately 66.2% of our tenants were not rated or did not have an investment-grade credit rating from a major ratings agency or were not affiliates of companies having an investment-grade credit rating. Our properties with such tenants may have a greater risk of default and bankruptcy than properties leased exclusively to investment-grade tenants. When we acquire properties where the tenant does not have a publicly available credit rating, we will use certain credit assessment tools as well as rely on our own estimates of the tenant’s credit rating which includes reviewing the tenant’s financial information (e.g., financial ratios, net worth, revenue, cash flows, leverage and liquidity, if applicable). If our ratings estimates are inaccurate, the default or bankruptcy risk for the subject tenant may be greater than anticipated. If our lender or a credit rating agency disagrees with our ratings estimates, we may not be able to obtain our desired level of leverage or our financing costs may exceed those that we projected. This outcome could have an adverse impact on our returns on that asset and hence our operating results.Increased operating expenses could reduce cash flows from operations and funds available to acquire properties or make distributions.Our properties are subject to operating risks common to real estate in general, any or all of which may negatively affect us. If any property is not fully occupied or if rents are payable (or are being paid) in an amount that is insufficient to cover operating expenses that are the landlord’s responsibility under the lease, we could be required to expend funds in excess of such rents with respect to that property for operating expenses. Our properties are subject to increases in tax rates, utility costs, insurance costs, repairs and maintenance costs, administrative costs and other operating and ownership expenses. Some of our property leases may not require the tenants to pay all or a portion of these expenses, in which event we may be responsible for these costs. If we are unable to lease properties on terms that require the tenants to pay all or some of the properties’ operating expenses, if our tenants fail to pay these expenses as required or if expenses we are required to pay exceed our expectations, we could have less funds available for future acquisitions or cash available for distributions to our stockholders.Inflation and rising interest rates may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.Since we may incur leverage to make investments, our income depends, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds and the rate at which we invest those funds. Inflation remained high in 2023. During the 12 months ended December 2023, the consumer price index rose 3.4%. The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate a total of four times during 2023, to control inflation, resulting in a range from 5.25% to 5. Although there are expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin reducing the federal funds rate in 2024, these expectations may not materialize. Should the Federal Reserve continue to raise rates in the future, this will likely result in further increases in market interest rates. In a rising interest rate environment, any leverage that we incur may bear a higher interest rate than may currently be available. There may not, however, be a corresponding increase in our revenues. Any reduction in the rate of return on new investments relative to the rate of return on current investments, and any reduction in the rate of return on current investments, could adversely impact our income, reducing our ability to service the interest obligations on, and to repay the principal of, our indebtedness.An increase in inflation could have an adverse impact on our floating rate mortgages, credit facilities and general and administrative expenses, as these costs could increase at a rate higher than our rental and other revenue. Inflation could also have an adverse effect on consumer spending, which could impact our tenants’ revenues and, in turn, their demand for space and future extensions of their leases.Local real property tax assessors may reassess our properties, which may result in increased taxes. Generally, property taxes increase as property values or assessment rates change, or for other reasons deemed relevant by property tax assessors. An increase in the assessed valuation of a property for real estate tax purposes will result in an increase in the related real estate taxes on that property. Although some tenant leases may permit us to pass through such tax increases to the tenants for payment, renewal leases or future leases may not be negotiated on the same basis. Tax increases not passed through to tenants could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions on our common stock.Covenants, conditions and restrictions may restrict our ability to operate a property.Many of our properties are or will be subject to significant covenants, conditions and restrictions, known as “CC&Rs,” restricting their operation and any improvements on such properties.Our operating results may be negatively affected by potential development and construction delays and the resultant increased costs and risks.If we engage in development or construction projects, we will be subject to uncertainties associated with re-zoning for development, environmental and land use concerns of governmental entities and/or community groups, and our builder’s ability to build in conformity with plans, specifications, budgeted costs, and timetables. If a builder fails to perform, we may resort to legal action to rescind the breached agreements or to compel performance. A builder’s performance may also be affected or delayed by conditions beyond the builder’s control. Delays in completion of construction could also give tenants the right to terminate preconstruction leases. We may incur additional risks if we make periodic progress payments or other advances to builders before they complete construction. These and other such factors can result in increased costs of a project or loss of our asset. In addition, we will be subject to normal lease-up risks relating to newly constructed projects. We also must rely on rental income and expense projections and estimates of the fair market value of property upon completion of construction when agreeing upon a price at the time we acquire the property. If our projections are inaccurate, we may pay too much for a property, and our return on our assets could suffer.We may deploy capital in unimproved real property. Returns from development of unimproved properties are also subject to risks associated with re-zoning the land for development and environmental and land use concerns of governmental entities and/or community groups.Competition with third parties in acquiring, leasing or selling properties and other investments may reduce our profitability and the return on our stockholders’ investment.We compete with many other entities engaged in real estate acquisition activities, including individuals, corporations, bank and insurance company investment accounts, other REITs, real estate limited partnerships, and other entities engaged in real estate acquisition activities, many of which have greater resources than we do. Larger competitors may enjoy significant advantages that result from, among other things, a lower cost of capital and enhanced operating efficiencies. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable acquisitions may increase. Any such increase would result in increased demand for these assets and therefore increased prices paid for them.We are also subject to competition in the leasing of our properties. Many of our competitors own properties similar to ours in the same markets in which our properties are located. If one of our properties is nearing the end of the lease term or becomes vacant and our competitors (which could include funds sponsored by affiliates of our manager) offer space at rental rates below current market rates or below the rental rates we currently charge our tenants, we may lose existing or potential tenants and we may be pressured to reduce our rental rates below those we currently charge or to offer substantial rent concessions in order to retain tenants when such tenants’ leases expire or to attract new tenants. In addition, if our competitors sell assets similar to assets we intend to sell in the same markets and/or at valuations below our valuations for comparable assets, we may be unable to dispose of our assets at all or at favorable pricing or on favorable terms. As a result of these actions by our competitors, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected.Many of our leases provide for increases in rent as a result of increases in the tenant’s sales volume. There likely will be numerous other retail properties within the market area of such properties that will compete with our tenants for customer business. In addition, traditional retailers face increasing competition from alternative retail channels, including internet-based retailers and other forms of e-commerce, factory outlet centers, wholesale clubs, mail order catalogs and television shopping networks, which could adversely impact our retail tenants’ sales volume. Such competition could negatively affect such tenants’ ability to pay rent or the amount of rent paid to us. This could result in decreased cash flows from tenants thus affecting cash available for distributions to our stockholders and the amount of distributions we pay.Acquiring or attempting to acquire multiple properties in a single transaction may adversely affect our operations.From time to time, we may acquire multiple properties in a single transaction. Portfolio acquisitions are often more complex and expensive than single-property acquisitions, and the risk that a multiple-property acquisition does not close may be greater than in a single-property acquisition. Portfolio acquisitions may also result in us owning assets in geographically dispersed markets, placing additional demands on our ability to manage the properties in the portfolio. In addition, a seller may require that a group of properties be purchased as a package even though we may not want to purchase one or more properties in the portfolio. In these situations, if we are unable to identify another person or entity to acquire the unwanted properties, we will be required to either pass on the entire portfolio, including the desirable properties or acquire the entire portfolio and operate or attempt to dispose of the unwanted properties. To acquire multiple properties in a single transaction, we may be required to accumulate a large amount of cash. We would expect the returns that we earn on such cash to be less than the ultimate returns on real property, therefore accumulating such cash could reduce our funds available for distributions to our stockholders. Any of the foregoing events may have an adverse impact on our operations.Our participation in a co-ownership arrangement may subject us to risks that otherwise may not be present in other real estate assets.We may enter into co-ownership arrangements with respect to a portion of the properties we acquire. Co-ownership arrangements involve risks generally not otherwise present with an investment in other real estate assets, such as the following:•the risk that a co-owner may at any time have economic or business interests or goals that are or become inconsistent with our business interests or goals;•the risk that a co-owner may be in a position to take action contrary to our instructions or requests or contrary to our policies, objectives or status as a REIT;•the possibility that an individual co-owner might become insolvent or bankrupt, or otherwise default under the applicable mortgage loan financing documents, which may constitute an event of default under all of the applicable mortgage loan financing documents, result in a foreclosure and the loss of all or a substantial portion of the investment made by the co-owner, or allow the bankruptcy court to reject the agreements entered into by the co-owners owning interests in the property;•the possibility that a co-owner might not have adequate liquid assets to make cash advances that may be required in order to fund operations, maintenance and other expenses related to the property, which could result in the loss of current or prospective tenants and may otherwise adversely affect the operation and maintenance of the property, and could cause a default under the applicable mortgage loan financing documents and may result in late charges, penalties and interest, and may lead to the exercise of foreclosure and other remedies by the lender;•the risk that a co-owner could breach agreements related to the property, which may cause a default under, and possibly result in personal liability in connection with, any mortgage loan financing documents applicable to the property, violate applicable securities laws, result in a foreclosure or otherwise adversely affect the property and the co-ownership arrangement;•the risk that we could have limited control and rights, with management decisions made entirely by a third party; and•the possibility that we will not have the right to sell the property at a time that otherwise could result in the property being sold for its maximum value.In the event that our interests become adverse to those of the other co-owners, we may not have the contractual right to purchase the co-ownership interests from the other co-owners. Even if we are given the opportunity to purchase such co-ownership interests in the future, we cannot guarantee that we will have sufficient funds available at the time to purchase co-ownership interests from the co-owners.We might want to sell our co-ownership interests in a given property or other investment at a time when the other co-owners in such property or investment do not desire to sell their interests.Terrorist attacks, acts of violence or war or public health crises may affect the markets in which we operate and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.The strength and profitability of our business depends on demand for and the value of our properties. We may acquire real estate assets located in areas that are susceptible to terrorist attacks or acts of war. These attacks may directly impact the value of our assets through damage, destruction, loss or increased security costs. Although we may obtain terrorism insurance, we may not be able to obtain sufficient coverage to fund any losses we may incur. Risks associated with potential acts of terrorism could sharply increase the premiums we pay for coverage against property and casualty claims. Further, certain losses resulting from these types of events are uninsurable or not insurable at reasonable costs.The long-term macroeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and any future pandemic or epidemic could have a material adverse impact on our financial performance and results of operations.While many of the direct impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have eased, the longer-term macroeconomic effects on global supply chains, inflation, labor shortages and wage increases continue to impact many industries, including those of certain of our tenants. Moreover, with the potential for new variants of COVID-19 to emerge, governments and businesses may re-impose aggressive measures to help slow its spread in the future. For this reason, among others, the potential global impacts are uncertain and difficult to assess.While we believe that our business is well-positioned for the post-COVID environment, long-term macroeconomic effects, including from supply and labor shortages, of the COVID-19 pandemic may in the future have an adverse impact on our estimated per share NAV, results of operations and cash flows, and may have an adverse impact on our ability to source new investments, obtain financing, fund distributions to stockholders and satisfy redemption requests, among other factors.The full extent of the impact and effects of COVID-19 will depend on future developments, including, among other factors, future variants of the virus, availability, acceptance and effectiveness of vaccines along with related travel advisories, quarantines and restrictions, the recovery time of the disrupted supply chains and industries, the impact of labor market interruptions, the impact of government interventions, and uncertainty with respect to the duration of the global economic slowdown. COVID-19, or any future pandemics or epidemics, and resulting impacts on the financial, economic and capital markets environment, and future developments in these and other areas present uncertainty and risk with respect to our performance, results of operations and ability to continue to pay distributions to our stockholders.We are subject to risks that affect the retail real estate environment generally.Our business has historically focused on retail real estate. As such, we are subject to certain risks that can affect the ability of our retail properties to generate sufficient revenue to meet our operating and other expenses, including debt service, to make capital expenditures and to make distributions to our stockholders. We face continuing challenges because of changing consumer preferences and because the conditions in the economy affect employment growth and cause fluctuations and variations in retail sales and in business and consumer confidence and consumer spending on retail goods.Changes in one or more of the aforementioned factors can lead to a decrease in the revenue or income generated by our properties and can have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Many of these factors could also specifically or disproportionately affect one or more of our tenants, which could decrease operating performance, reduce property revenue and affect our results of operations. If the estimated future cash flows related to a particular property are significantly reduced, we may be required to reduce the carrying value of the property.Downturns in the retail industry likely will have a direct adverse impact on our revenues and cash flow. Our retail performance therefore is generally linked to economic conditions in the market for retail space.To the extent that any of these conditions occur, they are likely to impact market rents for retail space, occupancy in our retail properties, our ability to sell, acquire or develop retail properties, and our cash available for distributions to stockholders.If we sell properties by providing financing to purchasers, defaults by the purchasers would adversely affect our cash flows from operations.In some instances, we may sell our properties by providing financing to purchasers. When we provide financing to purchasers, we will bear the risk that the purchaser may default on its obligations under the financing, which could negatively impact cash flows from operations. Even in the absence of a purchaser default, the distribution of sale proceeds or their reinvestment in other assets will be delayed until the promissory notes or other property we may accept upon the sale are actually paid, sold, refinanced or otherwise disposed of. In some cases, we may receive initial down payments in cash and other property in the year of sale in an amount less than the selling price, and subsequent payments will be spread over a number of years. If any purchaser defaults under a financing arrangement with us, such default could negatively impact our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders.Our net leases may require us to pay property-related expenses that are not the obligations of our tenants.Under the terms of the majority of our net leases, in addition to satisfying their rent obligations, our tenants will be responsible for the payment or reimbursement of property expenses such as real estate taxes, insurance and ordinary maintenance and repairs. If our properties incur significant expenses that must be paid by us under the terms of our leases, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected and the amount of cash available to meet expenses and to pay distributions to stockholders may be reduced.Changes in accounting standards may adversely impact our financial condition and/or results of operations.We are subject to the rules and regulations of the Financial Accounting Standards Board related to GAAP. Various changes to GAAP are constantly being considered, some of which could materially impact our reported financial condition and/or results of operations. Also, to the extent that public companies in the United States would be required in the future to prepare financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards instead of the current GAAP, this change in accounting standards could materially affect our financial condition or results of operations.Our real estate business is subject to risks from climate change.Our real estate business is subject to risks associated with climate change. Climate change could trigger extreme weather and changes in precipitation, temperature, and air quality, all of which may result in physical damage to, or a decrease in demand for, our properties located in the areas affected by these conditions. The promulgation of policies, laws or regulations relating to climate change by governmental authorities in the U.S. and the markets in which we own real estate may require us to invest additional capital in our properties.To the extent that climate change impacts changes in weather patterns, our markets could experience increases in extreme weather. There can be no assurances that we will successfully mitigate the risk of increased water costs and potential fines and/or penalties for high consumption. There can be no assurance that climate change will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and fire, safety and other regulations may require us to make unanticipated expenditures that could significantly reduce the cash available for distributions on our common stock.Our properties are subject to regulation under federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (the “ADA”), pursuant to which all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Although we believe that our properties substantially comply with present requirements of the ADA, we have not conducted an audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance. If one or more of our properties or future properties are not in compliance with the ADA, we might be required to take remedial action, which would require us to incur additional costs to bring the property into compliance. Noncompliance with the ADA could also result in imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants.Additional federal, state and local laws also may require modifications to our properties or restrict our ability to renovate our properties. We cannot predict the ultimate amount of the cost of compliance with the ADA or other legislation.In addition, our properties are subject to various federal, state and local regulatory requirements, such as state and local earthquake, fire and life safety requirements. If we were to fail to comply with these various requirements, we might incur governmental fines or private damage awards. If we incur substantial costs to comply with the ADA or any other regulatory requirements, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions on our common stock could be materially adversely affected. Local regulations, including municipal or local ordinances, zoning restrictions and restrictive covenants imposed by community developers may restrict our use of our properties and may require us to obtain approval from local officials or community standards organizations at any time with respect to our properties, including prior to acquiring a property or when undertaking renovations of any of our existing properties.Our manager and its affiliates are entitled to substantial fees from us under the terms of the Management Agreement. These fees could influence the judgment of our manager and its affiliates in performing services for us.CMFT Securities has engaged our Investment Advisor to select and manage our investment securities. Our Investment Advisor has engaged its sub-advisor to provide management services with respect to corporate credit-related securities and certain other investments. We rely on the performance of our Investment Advisor and its sub-advisor in implementing the investment securities portion of our investment strategy.CMFT Securities was formed for the purpose of holding any investment securities of ours. CMFT Securities has engaged our Investment Advisor to manage the day-to-day business affairs of CMFT Securities and its investments in corporate credit and real estate-related securities. Our Investment Advisor and its sub-advisor have, and will continue to have, substantial discretion, within our investment guidelines, to make decisions related to the acquisition, management and disposition of our investment securities. If our Investment Advisor and its sub-advisor do not succeed in implementing the investment securities portion of our investment strategy, our performance may suffer. In addition, even though CMFT Securities has the ability to terminate our Investment Advisor at any time and therefore also terminate the sub-advisor, a termination fee may be required to be paid in connection with such termination and it may be difficult and costly to terminate and replace our Investment Advisor and the sub-advisor.We do not have a direct contractual relationship with the sub-advisor. Therefore, it may be difficult for us to take enforcement action against the sub-advisor if its actions, performance or non-performance do not comply with the agreement.We are not a party to the agreement with the sub-advisor pursuant to which the sub-advisor provides investment management services with respect to the corporate credit-related securities held by CMFT Securities. Therefore, we are dependent upon our Investment Advisor to manage and monitor the sub-advisor effectively. The sub-advisor may take actions that are not in our best interest, which could cause our performance to suffer, and as we are not a party to the agreement with the sub-advisor, we are limited in our ability to enforce that agreement.Our manager faces conflicts of interest relating to the incentive fee structure under our Management Agreement, which could result in actions that are not necessarily in the long-term best interests of our stockholders.Pursuant to the terms of our Management Agreement, our manager is entitled to a subordinated performance fee that is structured in a manner intended to provide incentives to our manager to perform in our best interests and in the best interests of our stockholders. However, because our manager does not maintain a significant equity interest in us and is entitled to receive certain fees regardless of performance, our manager’s interests are not wholly aligned with those of our stockholders. Furthermore, our manager could be motivated to recommend riskier or more speculative acquisitions in order for us to generate the specified levels of performance or sales proceeds that would entitle our manager to performance-based fees. In addition, our manager will have substantial influence with respect to how and when our Board elects to provide liquidity to our stockholders, and these performance-based fees could influence our manager’s recommendations to us in this regard. This could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control.CIM and its affiliates may have investment objectives, strategy and criteria, including targeted asset types, substantially similar to ours.In addition, we have acquired, and may continue to acquire, properties in geographic areas where CIM or its affiliates or other real estate programs sponsored by CIM or its affiliates, own properties. If one of these other real estate programs attracts a tenant that we are competing for, we could suffer a loss of revenue due to delays in locating another suitable tenant.Our officers, certain of our directors and our manager, including its key personnel and officers, face conflicts of interest related to the positions they hold with affiliated and unaffiliated entities, which could hinder our ability to successfully implement our business strategy and to generate returns to our stockholders.Richard S. Additionally, two of our directors, Jason Schreiber and Emily Vande Krol, are employees of CIM Group. DeBacker, is a vice president of our manager and is an officer of certain of its affiliates. Even if these persons do not violate their duties to us and our stockholders, they will have competing demands on their time and resources and may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and resources among us and these other entities and persons. Should such persons devote insufficient time or resources to our business, returns on our investments may suffer. However, to the extent that these persons take actions that are more favorable to other entities than to us, these actions could have a negative impact on our financial performance and, consequently, on distributions to our stockholders and the value of their investments.We may acquire assets and borrow funds from affiliates of our manager, and sell or lease our assets to affiliates of our manager, and any such transaction could result in conflicts of interest.We are permitted to acquire properties from affiliates of our manager, provided that, pursuant to the Management Agreement, our manager shall not consummate on our behalf any transaction that involves the sale of any real estate or real-estate related asset to, or the acquisition of any such asset from, our manager or its affiliates, including CIM, and any funds managed by CIM or its affiliates, unless such transaction is on terms no less favorable to us than could have been obtained on an arm's length basis from an unrelated third party and has been approved in advance by a majority of our independent directors. In the event that we acquire a property from an affiliate of our manager, we may be foregoing an opportunity to acquire a different property that might be more advantageous to us. In addition, we are permitted to borrow funds from affiliates of our manager, including our sponsor, and to sell and lease our assets to affiliates of our manager, and we have not established a policy that specifically addresses how we will determine the sale or lease price in any such transaction. Any such borrowings, sale or lease transaction must be approved by a majority of our directors, including a majority of our independent directors, not otherwise interested in such transaction as being fair and reasonable to us. These persons also may have a conflict in structuring the terms of the relationship between us and any affiliated co-venturer or co-owner, as well as conflicts of interests in managing the joint venture, which may result in the co-venturer or co-owner receiving benefits greater than the benefits that we receive. In addition, if we become listed for trading on a national securities exchange, we may develop more divergent goals and objectives from any affiliated co-venturer or co-owner that is not listed for trading. We have adopted certain procedures for dealing with potential conflicts of interest as further described in Part I, Item 1.

Business — Conflicts of Interest in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Our charter permits our Board to authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 shares of stock, of which 490,000,000 shares are classified as common stock and 10,000,000 shares are classified as preferred stock. In addition, our Board, without any action by our stockholders, may amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares or the number of shares of any class or series of stock that we have authority to issue. The Board may classify or reclassify any unissued common stock or preferred stock into other classes or series of stock and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to distributions, qualifications and terms and conditions of redemption of any such stock. Shares of our common stock shall be subject to the express terms of any series of our preferred stock. Thus, our Board could authorize the issuance of preferred stock with terms and conditions that have a priority as to distributions and amounts payable upon liquidation over the rights of the holders of our common stock. Preferred stock could also have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing the removal of incumbent management or a change of control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets) that might provide a premium to the purchase price of our common stock for our stockholders.Maryland law prohibits certain business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us to be acquired and may limit our stockholders’ ability to dispose of their shares.Under Maryland law, “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities.A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if our Board approved in advance the transaction by which the person otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, our Board may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by our Board.After the five-year prohibition, any such business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:•80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of voting stock of the corporation, voting together as a single voting group; and•two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting stock of the corporation other than voting stock held by the interested stockholder who will (or whose affiliate will) be a party to the business combination or by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder.These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation’s stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares. The business combination statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by our Board prior to the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Pursuant to the statute, our Board has exempted any business combination involving our manager or any affiliate of our manager. As a result, our manager and any affiliate of our manager may be able to enter into business combinations with us that may not be in the best interest of our stockholders, without compliance with the super-majority vote requirements and the other provisions of the statute. The business combination statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer.Under its Control Share Acquisition Act, Maryland law also provides that a holder of “control shares” of a Maryland corporation acquired in a “control share acquisition” has no voting rights with respect to such shares except to the extent approved by the corporation’s disinterested stockholders by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares of stock owned by interested stockholders, that is, by the acquiror, or officers of the corporation or employees of the corporation who are directors of the corporation, are excluded from shares entitled to vote on the matter. “Control shares” are voting shares of stock that would entitle the acquiror, directly or indirectly, except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy, to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power in electing directors within specified ranges of voting power. Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A “control share acquisition” means the acquisition of control shares. The control share acquisition statute does not apply (a) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction or (b) to acquisitions approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the corporation. This provision may be amended or eliminated at any time in the future. If this provision were amended or eliminated, this statute could have the effect of discouraging offers from third parties to acquire us and increasing the difficulty of successfully completing this type of offer by anyone other than our manager or any of its affiliates.Our charter includes a provision that may discourage a person, including a stockholder, from launching a tender offer for our shares.Our charter requires that any tender offer, including any “mini-tender” offer, must comply with most of the requirements of Regulation 14D of the Exchange Act. The offering person must provide us notice of the tender offer at least ten business days before initiating the tender offer. If the offering person does not comply with these requirements, our stockholders will be prohibited from transferring any shares to such non-complying person unless they first offered such shares to us at the tender offer price offered by the non-complying person. In addition, the non-complying person shall be responsible for all of our expenses in connection with that person’s noncompliance. This provision of our charter may discourage a person from initiating a tender offer for our shares and prevent our stockholders from receiving a premium to the purchase price for their shares in such a transaction.37Table of ContentsIf we are unable to qualify for an exclusion from the definition of an investment company under the Investment Company Act, it could have a material adverse effect on us.Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, which for these purposes includes loans and participation interests therein. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. Section 3(c)(5)(C) excludes from the definition of an investment company entities that are “primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate” (“Qualifying Interests”). As reflected in a series of no-action letters, the SEC staff’s position on Section 3(c)(5)(C) generally requires that in order to qualify for this exclusion, an issuer must maintain:•at least 55% of the value of its assets in Qualifying Interests,•at least an additional 25% of its assets in other permitted real estate-related interests (reduced by any amount the issuer held in excess of the 55% minimum requirement for Qualifying Interests), and•no more than 20% of its assets in other than Qualifying Interests and real estate-related assets,and also that the interests in real estate meet other criteria described in such no-action letters.We will classify our assets for purposes of our 3(c)(5)(C) exemption based upon the no-action positions taken by the SEC staff and interpretive guidance provided by the SEC and its staff. These no-action positions are based on specific factual situations that may be substantially different from the factual situations we may face, and a number of these no-action positions were issued more than 20 years ago. No assurance can be given that the SEC or its staff will concur with our classification of our assets. In addition, the SEC or its staff may, in the future, issue further guidance that may require us to re-classify our assets for purposes of the Investment Company Act. If we are required to re-classify our assets, we may no longer be in compliance with the exemption from the definition of an investment company provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act.Qualifying for an exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act will limit our ability to make certain investments. For example, these restrictions may limit our and our subsidiaries’ ability to invest directly in mortgage-backed securities that represent less than the entire ownership in a pool of mortgage loans, debt and equity tranches of securitizations and certain asset-backed securities, non-controlling equity interests in real estate companies or in assets not related to real estate.Although we intend to monitor our portfolio, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain this exemption from registration. A change in the value of any of our assets could negatively affect our ability to maintain our exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act. To maintain compliance with the Section 3(c)(5)(C) exemption, we may be unable to sell assets we would otherwise want to sell and may need to sell assets we would otherwise wish to retain. If our stockholders do not agree with the decisions of our Board, they only have limited control over changes in our policies and operations and may not be able to change such policies and operations. Our investment policies may change over time. The methods of implementing our investment objectives and strategies also may vary as new real estate development trends emerge and new investment techniques are developed. The Board may amend or revise these and other policies without a vote of our stockholders. As a result, the nature of our stockholders’ investment could change without their consent. Our stockholders generally have limited voting rights.All other matters are subject to the discretion of our Board. Therefore, our stockholders are limited in their ability to change our policies and operations. Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to recover claims against our officers, directors and our manager are limited, which could reduce our stockholders’ and our recovery against them if they cause us to incur losses.The MGCL provides that a director has no liability in such capacity if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the corporation’s best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. Our charter, in the case of our directors and officers, and the Management Agreement, in the case of our manager and its affiliates, require us, subject to certain exceptions, to indemnify and advance expenses to our directors, our officers, and our manager and its affiliates. Moreover, we have entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Our charter permits us to provide such indemnification and advance for expenses to our employees and agents. Additionally, our charter limits, subject to certain exceptions, the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for monetary damages. Although our charter does not allow us to indemnify our directors or our manager and its affiliates for any liability or loss suffered by them or hold harmless our directors or our manager and its affiliates for any loss or liability suffered by us to a greater extent than permitted under Maryland law, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors, officers, employees and agents, and our manager and its affiliates, than might otherwise exist under common law, which could reduce our stockholders’ and our recovery against them. In addition, our manager is not required to retain cash to pay potential liabilities and it may not have sufficient cash available to pay liabilities if they arise. If our manager is held liable for a breach of its fiduciary duty to us, or a breach of its contractual obligations to us, we may not be able to collect the full amount of any claims we may have against our manager. In addition, we may be obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by our directors, officers, employees and agents or our manager in some cases, which would decrease the cash otherwise available for distribution to our stockholders.Our stockholders’ interest in us will be diluted if we issue additional shares.Our stockholders do not have preemptive rights to any shares issued by us in the future. Our charter authorizes 500,000,000 shares of stock, of which 490,000,000 shares are classified as common stock and 10,000,000 shares are classified as preferred stock. Subject to any limitations set forth under Maryland law, our Board may amend our charter from time to time to increase the number of authorized shares of stock, increase or decrease the number of shares of any class or series of stock that we have authority to issue, or classify or reclassify any unissued shares into other classes or series of stock without the necessity of obtaining stockholder approval. All of such shares may be issued in the discretion of our Board. Because the limited partnership interests of our operating partnership may, in the discretion of our Board, be exchanged for shares of our common stock, any merger, exchange or conversion between our operating partnership and another entity ultimately could result in the issuance of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, thereby diluting the percentage ownership interest of other stockholders.Our Umbrella Partnership Real Estate Investment Trust (“UPREIT”) structure may result in potential conflicts of interest with limited partners in our operating partnership whose interests may not be aligned with those of our stockholders.Our directors and officers have duties to our corporation and our stockholders under Maryland law in connection with their management of the corporation. At the same time, we, as general partner, have fiduciary duties under Delaware law to our operating partnership and to the limited partners in connection with the management of our operating partnership. If we admit outside limited partners to our operating partnership, our duties as general partner of our operating partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to the corporation and our stockholders. Under Delaware law, a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership owes its limited partners the duties of good faith and fair dealing. Other duties, including fiduciary duties, may be modified or eliminated in the partnership’s partnership agreement. The partnership agreement of our operating partnership provides that, for so long as we own a controlling interest in our operating partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners will be resolved in favor of our stockholders.Additionally, the partnership agreement expressly limits our liability by providing that we and our officers, directors, agents and employees, will not be liable or accountable to our operating partnership for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived if we or our officers, directors, agents or employees acted in good faith. In addition, our operating partnership is required to indemnify us and our officers, directors, employees, agents and designees to the extent permitted by applicable law from and against any and all claims arising from operations of our operating partnership, unless it is established that: (1) the act or omission was committed in bad faith, was fraudulent or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty; (2) the indemnified party received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services; or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the indemnified person had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.The provisions of Delaware law that allow the fiduciary duties of a general partner to be modified by a partnership agreement have not been tested in a court of law, and we have not obtained an opinion of counsel covering the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement that purport to waive or restrict our fiduciary duties.The limit on the percentage of shares of our common stock that any person may own may discourage a takeover or business combination that may benefit our stockholders.Our charter restricts the direct or indirect ownership by one person or entity to no more than 9.8% of the value of our then outstanding capital stock (which includes common stock and any preferred stock we may issue) and no more than 9.8% of the value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the then outstanding shares of our common stock unless exempted (prospectively or retroactively) by our Board. These restrictions may discourage a change of control of us and may deter individuals or entities from making tender offers for shares of our common stock on terms that might be financially attractive to stockholders or which may cause a change in our management. In addition to deterring potential transactions that may be favorable to our stockholders, these provisions may also decrease the ability of stockholders to sell their shares of our common stock.We have acquired real estate and other real estate-related assets by borrowing new funds. In addition, we have incurred mortgage debt and pledged some of our real properties as security for that debt to obtain funds to acquire additional real properties and other assets and to pay distributions to our stockholders. We may borrow additional funds if we need funds to satisfy the REIT tax qualification requirement that we distribute at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income, excluding any net capital gains, to our stockholders. We may also borrow additional funds if we otherwise deem it necessary or advisable to assure that we maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. There is no limitation on the amount we may borrow against any individual property or other asset. This factor could limit the amount of cash we have available to distribute to our stockholders and could result in a decline in the value of our stockholders’ investment.We do not intend to incur mortgage debt on a particular property unless we believe the property’s projected operating cash flows are sufficient to service the mortgage debt. However, if there is a shortfall between the cash flows from a property and the cash flows needed to service mortgage debt on a property, the amount available for distributions to our stockholders may be reduced. In addition, incurring mortgage debt increases the risk of loss since defaults on indebtedness secured by a property may result in lenders initiating foreclosure actions. In that case, we could lose the property securing the loan that is in default, thus reducing the value of our stockholders’ investments. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a foreclosure of any of our properties would be treated as a sale of the property for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the property, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure, but would not receive any cash proceeds from the foreclosure. In such event, we may be unable to pay the amount of distributions required in order to maintain our qualification as a REIT. We may give full or partial guarantees to lenders of recourse mortgage debt to the entities that own our properties. If we provide a guaranty on behalf of an entity that owns one of our properties, we will be responsible to the lender for satisfaction of the debt if it is not paid by such entity and with respect to any such property that is vacant, potentially be responsible for any property-related costs such as real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance, which costs will likely increase if the lender does not timely exercise its remedies. If any mortgages contain cross-collateralization or cross-default provisions, a default on a single property could affect multiple properties. If any of our properties are foreclosed upon due to a default, our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders will be adversely affected, which could result in our losing our REIT status and would result in a decrease in the value of our stockholders’ investment. Because of this dividend requirement, we may not be able to fund from cash retained from operations all of our future capital needs, including capital needed to refinance maturing obligations or make new acquisitions.Although there are expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin reducing the federal funds rate in 2024, these expectations might not materialize and the Federal Reserve may instead continue to raise interest rates in 2024 to combat inflation. If interest rates remain at an elevated level because of the Federal Reserve’s attempt to combat inflation, it could hinder our ability to obtain new debt financing or refinance our maturing debt on favorable terms or at all or to raise debt and equity capital. Our access to capital will depend upon a number of factors, including:•general market conditions;•government action or regulation, including changes in tax law;•the market’s perception of our future growth potential;•the extent of investor interest;•analyst reports about us and the REIT industry;•the general reputation of REITs and the attractiveness of their equity securities in comparison to other equity securities, including securities issued by other real estate-based companies;•our financial performance and that of our tenants;•our current debt levels and changes in our credit ratings, if any;•our current and expected future earnings; and•our cash flows and cash distributions, including our ability to satisfy the dividend requirements applicable to REITs.If we are unable to obtain needed capital on satisfactory terms or at all, we may not be able to meet our obligations and commitments as they mature or make any new acquisitions.High interest rates may make it difficult for us to finance or refinance assets, which could reduce the number of properties we can acquire and the amount of cash distributions we can make.We run the risk of being unable to finance or refinance our assets on favorable terms or at all. Our inability to use debt to finance or refinance our assets could reduce the number of assets we can acquire, which could reduce our operating cash flows and the amount of cash distributions we can make to our stockholders. Higher costs of capital also could negatively impact our operating cash flows and returns on our assets.Increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our debt payments and adversely affect our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.We have incurred indebtedness, and in the future may incur additional indebtedness, that bears interest at a variable rate. The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate a total of four times during 2023 and although there are expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin reducing the federal funds rate in 2024, these expectations might not materialize. Should the Federal Reserve continue to raise rates in the future, this will likely result in further increases in market interest rates. To the extent that we incur variable rate debt and do not hedge our exposure thereunder, increases in interest rates would increase the amounts payable under such indebtedness, which could reduce our operating cash flows and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders. In addition, if our existing indebtedness matures or otherwise becomes payable during a period of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our assets at times that may prevent realization of the maximum return on such assets.We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows to meet our debt service obligations.Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness, and to fund our operations, working capital and capital expenditures, depends on our ability to generate cash. To a certain extent, our cash flows are subject to general economic, industry, financial, competitive, operating, legislative, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.We cannot assure our stockholders that our business will generate sufficient cash flows from operations or that future sources of cash will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay amounts due on our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs.Additionally, if we incur additional indebtedness in connection with any future deployment of capital or development projects or for any other purpose, our debt service obligations could increase. We may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness before maturity.As a result, we may not be able to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we do not generate sufficient cash flows from operations, and additional borrowings or refinancings or proceeds of asset sales or other sources of cash are not available to us, we may not have sufficient cash to enable us to meet all of our obligations. Accordingly, if we cannot service our indebtedness, we may have to take actions such as seeking additional equity, or delaying any strategic acquisitions and alliances or capital expenditures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or maintain our level of distributions on our common stock.Lenders may require us to enter into restrictive covenants relating to our operations, which could limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.In connection with providing us financing, a lender could impose restrictions on us that affect our distribution and operating policies and our ability to incur additional debt. In general, our loan agreements restrict our ability to encumber or otherwise transfer our interest in the respective property without the prior consent of the lender. Loan documents we enter into may contain covenants that limit our ability to further mortgage the property, discontinue insurance coverage or replace CMFT Management as our manager. These or other limitations imposed by a lender may adversely affect our flexibility and our ability to pay distributions on our common stock.We have financed some of our property acquisitions using interest-only mortgage indebtedness and may continue to do so. During the interest-only period, the amount of each scheduled payment will be less than that of a traditional amortizing mortgage loan. The principal balance of the mortgage loan will not be reduced (except in the case of prepayments) because there are no scheduled monthly payments of principal during this period. After the interest-only period, we will be required either to make scheduled payments of amortized principal and interest or to make a lump-sum or “balloon” payment at maturity. These required principal or balloon payments will increase the amount of our scheduled payments and may increase our risk of default under the related mortgage loan. If the mortgage loan has an adjustable interest rate, the amount of our scheduled payments also may increase at a time of rising interest rates. Increased payments and substantial principal or balloon maturity payments will reduce the funds available for distribution to our stockholders because cash otherwise available for distribution will be required to pay principal and interest associated with these mortgage loans.Our ability to make a balloon payment at maturity is uncertain and may depend upon our ability to obtain additional financing or our ability to sell the property. At the time the balloon payment is due, we may or may not be able to refinance the loan on terms as favorable as the original loan or sell the property at a price sufficient to make the balloon payment. The effect of a refinancing or sale could affect the rate of return to stockholders and the projected time of disposition of our assets. In addition, payments of principal and interest made to service our debts may leave us with insufficient cash to pay the distributions that we are required to pay to maintain our qualification as a REIT. Any of these results would have a significant, negative impact on the value of our common stock.To hedge against exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, we have used, and may continue to use, derivative financial instruments that may be costly and ineffective and may reduce the overall returns on our stockholders’ investment.We have used, and may continue to use, derivative financial instruments to hedge our exposure to changes in exchange rates and interest rates on loans secured by our assets and investments in CMBS. Derivative instruments may include interest rate swap contracts, interest rate caps or floor contracts, rate lock arrangements, futures or forward contracts, options or repurchase agreements. Our actual hedging decisions will be determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of the hedge and may differ from time to time.To the extent that we use derivative financial instruments to hedge against exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, we will be exposed to credit risk, market risk, basis risk and legal enforceability risks. In this context, credit risk is the failure of the counterparty to perform under the terms of the derivative contract. If the fair value of a derivative contract is positive, the counterparty owes us, which creates credit risk for us. Market risk includes the adverse effect on the value of the financial instrument resulting from a change in interest rates. Finally, legal enforceability risks encompass general contractual risks, including the risk that the counterparty will breach the terms of, or fail to perform its obligations under, the derivative contract. If we are unable to manage these risks effectively, our results of operations, financial condition and ability to pay distributions to our stockholders will be adversely affected.U.S. Federal Income and Other Tax RisksFailure to maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S.We are currently taxed as a REIT under the Code. We believe that our current and proposed organization, ownership and method of operation will enable us to maintain our qualification and taxation as a REIT. However, we cannot assure you that we will continue to qualify as such. This is because qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code as to which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations and involves the determination of facts and circumstances not entirely within our control. Furthermore, new legislation, new regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions, in each instance potentially with retroactive effect, could make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT.If we fail to qualify, or to remain qualified, as a REIT in any taxable year, then:•we would be taxed as a regular domestic corporation, which under current laws, among other things, means being unable to deduct distributions to stockholders in computing taxable income and being subject to federal income tax on our taxable income at the regular corporate income tax rate;•any resulting tax liability could be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on our book value;43Table of Contents•unless we were entitled to relief under applicable statutory provisions, we would be required to pay taxes, and therefore, our cash available for distribution to stockholders would be reduced for each of the years during which we did not qualify as a REIT and for which we had taxable income; and•we generally would not be eligible to requalify as a REIT for the subsequent four full taxable years.We could be subject to a material tax liability if our sales of properties during 2023 are treated as prohibited transactions. The Code imposes a tax of 100% on net income derived by a REIT from a prohibited transaction, which is generally a sale or other disposition of property held primarily for sale in the ordinary course of a trade or business. Any losses incurred on prohibited transactions may not be used to offset gains from prohibited transactions. The Code sets forth a safe harbor for REITs that wish to sell property without risking the imposition of the 100% tax (the “Safe Harbor”). In general, under the Safe Harbor, a sale of property will not be treated as a sale of dealer property subject to the 100% tax if: (a) the REIT held the property for not less than two years, (b) the aggregate expenditures made by the REIT during the two years preceding the date of sale that are includable in the basis of the property do not exceed 30% of the net selling price, (c) in the case of land or improvements, the REIT has held the property for not less than two years for production of rental income, and (d) one of the following is true: (1) during the taxable year the REIT does not make more than seven sales of property, (2) the aggregate adjusted bases of properties sold during the year does not exceed 10% of the aggregate bases of all of the properties of the REIT at the beginning of the year, (3) the fair market value of properties sold during the year does not exceed 10% of the fair market value of all of the properties of the REIT at the beginning of the year, (4) the aggregate adjusted bases of properties sold during the year does not exceed 20% of the aggregate bases of all of the properties of the REIT at the beginning of the year, provided that the “3-year average adjusted bases percentage” for the taxable year does not exceed 10%, or (5) the fair market value of properties sold during the year does not exceed 20% of the fair market value of all of the properties of the REIT at the beginning of the year, provided that the “3-year average fair market value percentage” for the taxable year does not exceed 10%. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we sold a total of 188 properties (the “2023 Sales”), which, excluding assets sold for a loss, resulted in a tax gain of approximately $272. The sales did not qualify under the Safe Harbor because there were more than seven sales during the year ended December 31, 2023 and the total value and basis of the assets sold exceeded the 10% threshold for the year ended December 31, 2023 and also the 20% limitation with respect to the three-year average, as discussed above. However, failing to satisfy the Safe Harbor in connection with a particular sale does not necessarily mean that the sale will conclusively be treated as a prohibited transaction. Rather, a sale will be treated as a prohibited transaction only if all of the facts and circumstances establish that the property is held for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. While we believe that the facts and circumstances establish that the 2023 Sales should not be treated as a prohibited transaction, there can be no assurances that the IRS will agree with that assessment. If the IRS successfully asserts that the 2023 Sales are prohibited transactions, the resulting tax liability of approximately $272.3 million would substantially reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to stockholders.Re-characterization of sale-leaseback transactions may cause us to lose our REIT status.We may purchase properties and lease them back to the sellers of such properties. We would characterize such a sale-leaseback transaction as a “true lease,” which treats the lessor as the owner of the property for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In the event that any sale-leaseback transaction is challenged by the IRS and re-characterized as a financing transaction or loan for U.S. federal income tax purposes, deductions for depreciation and cost recovery relating to such property would be disallowed. If a sale-leaseback transaction were so re-characterized, we might fail to satisfy the REIT qualification “asset tests” or the “income tests” and, consequently, lose our REIT status effective with the year of re-characterization. Alternatively, such a re-characterization could cause the amount of our REIT taxable income to be recalculated, which might also cause us to fail to meet the distribution requirement for a taxable year and thus lose our REIT status.Our stockholders may have current tax liability on distributions they elect to reinvest in our common stock.If our stockholders participate in our DRIP, they will be deemed to have received, and for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be taxed on, the amount reinvested in shares of our common stock that does not represent a return of capital. In addition, our stockholders may be treated, for U.S. federal tax purposes, as having received an additional distribution to the extent the shares are purchased at a discount from fair market value. Such an additional deemed distribution could cause our stockholders to be subject to additional income tax liability.44Table of ContentsGenerally, ordinary dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for reduced U.S.Currently, the maximum tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income payable to certain non-corporate U.S. shareholders is 20%. However, commencing with taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 and continuing through 2025, individual taxpayers may be entitled to claim a deduction in determining their taxable income of 20% of ordinary REIT dividends (dividends other than capital gain dividends and dividends attributable to certain qualified dividend income received by us), which temporarily reduces the effective tax rate on such dividends. Stockholders are urged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the effect of this change on effective tax rates with respect to REIT dividends.In recent years, numerous legislative, judicial and administrative changes have been made in the provisions of U.S. federal income tax laws applicable to investments similar to an investment in shares of our common stock. Additional changes to the tax laws are likely to continue to occur, and we cannot assure our stockholders that any such changes will not adversely affect our taxation and our ability to continue to qualify as a REIT, or the taxation of a stockholder. Any such changes could have an adverse effect on an investment in our shares or on the market value or the resale potential of our assets.S.S. federal income tax laws and regulations or other considerations mean it is no longer in our best interest to qualify as a REIT. According to publicly released statements, a top legislative priority of President Biden’s administration and of Democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives is significant tax increases and various other changes to U.S. tax rules. It is unclear whether any legislation will be enacted into law or, if enacted, what form it would take, and it is also unclear whether there could be regulatory or administrative action that could affect U.S. tax rules. The impact of tax reform and any potential tax changes on an investment in our shares is uncertain.In addition, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made significant changes to the U.S. federal income tax rules for taxation of individuals and businesses, generally effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, including a number of provisions of the Code that affect the taxation of REITs and their stockholders. Among the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are permanently reducing the generally applicable corporate tax rate, generally reducing the tax rate applicable to individuals and other noncorporate taxpayers for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, eliminating or modifying certain previously allowed deductions (including substantially limiting interest deductibility and, for individuals, the deduction for non-business state and local taxes), and, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, providing for preferential rates of taxation through a deduction of up to 20% (subject to certain limitations) on most ordinary REIT dividends and certain trade or business income of non-corporate taxpayers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also made numerous large and small changes to the tax rules that do not affect the REIT qualification rules directly but may otherwise affect us or our stockholders. While the changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act generally appear to be favorable with respect to REITs, the extensive changes to non-REIT provisions in the Code may have unanticipated effects on us or our stockholders. Additional changes to tax laws were enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “Inflation Reduction Act”). Many of the material provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act exempt REITs.We may incur tax liabilities that would reduce our cash available for distribution to our stockholders.S. federal income taxes and related state and local taxes. We may not make sufficient distributions to avoid excise taxes applicable to REITs. Similarly, if we were to fail a gross income test (and did not lose our REIT status because such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect) we would be subject to tax on the income that does not meet the gross income test requirements. In that event, our stockholders would be treated as if they earned that income and paid the tax on it directly. However, stockholders that are tax-exempt, such as charities or qualified pension plans, would have no benefit from their deemed payment of such tax liability unless they file U.S. federal income tax returns and thereon seek a refund of such tax. We also may be subject to state and local taxes on our income or property, including franchise, payroll, mortgage recording and transfer taxes, either directly or at the level of our operating partnership or at the level of the other entities through which we indirectly own our assets, such as our taxable REIT subsidiaries, which are subject to full U.S.If our operating partnership or certain other subsidiaries fail to maintain their status as disregarded entities or partnerships, their income may be subject to taxation, which would reduce the cash available to us for distribution to our stockholders.We intend to cause CMFT OP, our operating partnership, to maintain its current status as an entity separate from us (a disregarded entity), or in the alternative, a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Our operating partnership would lose its status as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes if it issues interests to any subsidiary we establish that is not a disregarded entity for tax purposes (a “regarded entity”) or a person other than us. If our operating partnership issues interests to any subsidiary we establish that is a regarded entity for tax purposes or a person other than us, we would characterize our operating partnership as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a disregarded entity or partnership, our operating partnership is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on its income. However, if the IRS were to successfully challenge the status of our operating partnership as a disregarded entity or partnership, CMFT OP would be taxable as a corporation. In such event, this would reduce the amount of distributions that the operating partnership could make to us. This could also result in our losing REIT status, and becoming subject to a corporate-level tax on our income. This would substantially reduce the cash available to us to make distributions to our stockholders and the return on their investment. In addition, if certain of our other subsidiaries through which CMFT OP owns its properties, in whole or in part, lose their status as disregarded entities or partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such subsidiaries would be subject to taxation as corporations, thereby reducing cash available for distributions to our operating partnership. Such a re-characterization of CMFT OP’s subsidiaries also could threaten our ability to maintain REIT status.To maintain our REIT status, we may have to borrow funds on a short-term basis during unfavorable market conditions. We will be subject to regular corporate income taxes on any undistributed REIT taxable income each year. Additionally, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on any amount by which distributions paid by us in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from previous years. Payments we make to our stockholders under our share redemption program will not be taken into account for purposes of these distribution requirements. If we do not have sufficient cash to make distributions necessary to preserve our REIT status for any year or to avoid taxation, we may be forced to borrow funds or sell assets even if the market conditions at that time are not favorable for these borrowings or sales. These options could increase our costs or reduce our equity.Compliance with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities, which may hinder or delay our ability to meet our investment objectives and reduce our stockholders’ overall return.To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we are required at all times to satisfy tests relating to, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the ownership of our shares of common stock and the amounts we distribute to our stockholders. Compliance with the REIT requirements may impair our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits. For example, we may be required to make distributions to stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution.Compliance with REIT requirements may force us to liquidate or restructure otherwise attractive investments. The remainder of our investment in securities (other than qualified real estate assets and government securities) generally cannot 46Table of Contentsinclude more than 10% of the voting securities (other than securities that qualify for the straight debt safe harbor) of any one issuer or more than 10% of the value of the outstanding securities of more than any one issuer unless we and such issuer jointly elect for such issuer to be treated as a “taxable REIT subsidiary” under the Code (“TRS”). Debt will generally meet the “straight debt” safe harbor if the debt is a written unconditional promise to pay on demand or on a specified date a certain sum of money, the debt is not convertible, directly or indirectly, into shares of common stock, and the interest rate and the interest payment dates of the debt are not contingent on the profits, the borrower’s discretion, or similar factors. Additionally, no more than 5% of the value of our assets (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 20% of the value of our assets may be represented by securities of one or more TRSs. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.The foregoing requirements could cause us to distribute amounts that otherwise would be spent on real estate assets and it is possible that we might be required to borrow funds, possibly at unfavorable rates, or sell assets to fund these dividends or make taxable stock dividends. Although we intend to make distributions sufficient to meet the annual distribution requirements and to avoid U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our earnings, it is possible that we might not always be able to do so.The failure of a mezzanine loan to qualify as a real estate asset could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.We have invested and may continue to invest in mezzanine loans, for which the IRS has provided a safe harbor, but not rules of substantive law. We may acquire mezzanine loans that do not meet all of the requirements of this safe harbor. In the event we own a mezzanine loan that does not meet the safe harbor, the IRS could challenge such loan’s treatment as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset and income tests and, if such a challenge were sustained, we could fail to qualify as a REIT. We may fail to qualify as a REIT or become subject to a penalty tax if the IRS successfully challenges our treatment of our mezzanine loans and certain preferred equity investments as debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes. There is limited case law and administrative guidance addressing whether instruments similar to our mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments will be treated as equity or debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We treat our mezzanine loans and our preferred equity investments as debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but we do not obtain private letter rulings from the IRS or opinions of counsel on the characterization of such investments for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If such investments were treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would be treated as owning the assets held by the partnership or limited liability company that issued the mezzanine loan or preferred equity, and we would be treated as receiving our proportionate share of the income of that entity. If that partnership or limited liability company owned nonqualifying assets, earned nonqualifying income, or earned prohibited transaction income, we may not be able to satisfy all of the REIT income or asset tests or could be subject to prohibited transaction tax. Accordingly, we could be required to pay prohibited transaction tax or fail to qualify as a REIT if the IRS does not respect our classification of our mezzanine loans and certain preferred equity investments as debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless we are able to qualify for a statutory REIT “savings” provision, which may require us to pay a significant penalty tax to maintain our REIT qualification.Non-U.S. stockholders may be subject to U.S. federal tax upon their disposition of our common stock or upon their receipt of certain distributions from us.In addition to any potential withholding tax on ordinary dividends, a non-U.S. stockholder, other than a “qualified shareholder” or a “qualified foreign pension fund,” that disposes of a “U.S. real property interest” (“USRPI”) (which includes shares of stock of a U.S. corporation whose assets consist principally of USRPIs), is generally subject to U.S. federal income tax under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980, as amended (“FIRPTA”), on the amount received from such disposition. Such tax does not apply, however, to the disposition of stock in a REIT that is “domestically controlled.” Generally, a REIT is domestically controlled if less than 50% of its stock, by value, has been owned directly or indirectly by non-U.S. persons during a continuous five-year period ending on the date of disposition or, if shorter, during the entire period of the REIT’s existence. We cannot assure you that we will continue to qualify as a domestically controlled REIT. If we were to fail to so maintain our qualification, amounts received by a non-U.S. stockholder on certain dispositions of our common stock (including a repurchase) would be subject to tax under FIRPTA, unless (i) our shares of common stock were regularly traded on an established securities market and (ii) the non-U.S. stockholder did not, at any time during a specified testing period, hold more than 10% of our common stock. 47Table of ContentsA non-U.S. holder other than a “qualified shareholder” or a “qualified foreign pension fund,” that receives a distribution from a REIT that is attributable to gains from the disposition of a USRPI as described above, including in connection with a redemption of our common stock, is generally subject to U.S. federal income tax under FIRPTA to the extent such distribution is attributable to gains from such disposition, regardless of whether the difference between the fair market value and the tax basis of the USRPI giving rise to such gains is attributable to periods prior to or during such non-U.S. holder’s ownership of our common stock. In addition, a redemption of our common stock may be subject to withholding as an ordinary dividend.We seek to act in the best interests of the Company as a whole and not in consideration of the particular tax consequences to any specific holder of our shares of common stock. Potential non-U.S. stockholders should inform themselves as to the U.S. tax consequences, and the tax consequences within the countries of their citizenship, residence, domicile, and place of business, with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock.Distributions to tax-exempt stockholders may be classified as unrelated business taxable income.e., a “taxable mortgage pool”) or a residual interest in a real estate mortgage investment conduit (“REMIC”), dividends on, and gains recognized on the sale of, shares by such tax-exempt stockholder may be subject to U.S. federal income tax as UBTI under the Code.Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge our liabilities effectively and may cause us to incur tax liabilities.The REIT provisions of the Code may limit our ability to hedge our liabilities. Any income from a hedging transaction we enter into to manage risk of interest rate changes, price changes or currency fluctuations with respect to borrowings made or to be made to acquire or carry real estate assets or to offset certain other positions, if properly identified under applicable Treasury Regulations, does not constitute “gross income” for purposes of the 75% or 95% gross income tests. To the extent that we enter into other types of hedging transactions, the income from those transactions will likely be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of one or both of the gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we may need to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities because our TRSs would be subject to tax on gains or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear. In addition, losses in a TRS generally will not provide any tax benefit, except for being carried forward against future taxable income of such TRS.Our property taxes could increase due to property tax rate changes or reassessment, which would impact our cash flows.Even if we continue to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we will be required to pay some state and local taxes on our properties. The real property taxes on our properties may increase as property tax rates change or as our properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. Therefore, the amount of property taxes we pay in the future may increase substantially. If the property taxes we pay increase and if any such increase is not reimbursable under the terms of our lease, then our cash flows will be negatively impacted, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to maintain our level of distributions on our common stock.The share transfer and ownership restrictions applicable to REITs and contained in our charter may inhibit market activity in our shares of stock and restrict our business combination opportunities.In order to continue to qualify as a REIT, five or fewer individuals, as defined in the Code, may not own, actually or constructively, more than 50% in value of our issued and outstanding shares of stock at any time during the last half of each taxable year, other than the first year for which a REIT election is made. Attribution rules in the Code determine if any individual or entity actually or constructively owns our shares of stock under this requirement. Additionally, at least 100 persons must beneficially own our shares of stock during at least 335 days of a taxable year for each taxable year, other than the first year for which a REIT election is made. To help ensure that we meet these tests, among other purposes, our charter restricts the acquisition and ownership of our shares of stock.Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Unless exempted by our Board, for so long as we continue to qualify as a REIT, our charter prohibits, among other limitations on ownership and transfer of shares of our stock, any person from beneficially or constructively owning (applying certain attribution rules under the Code) more than 9.8% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of stock and more than 9. The Board, in its sole discretion and upon receipt of certain representations and undertakings, may exempt a person (prospectively or retrospectively) from the ownership limits. However, our Board may not, among other limitations, grant an exemption from these ownership restrictions to any proposed transferee whose ownership, direct or indirect, in excess of the 9.8% ownership limit would result in the termination of our qualification as a REIT. These restrictions on transferability and ownership will not apply, however, if our Board determines that it is no longer in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT or that compliance with the restrictions is no longer required in order for us to continue to so qualify as a REIT.These ownership limits could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.A REIT may own up to 100% of the stock of one or more TRSs. Both the subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. A TRS will be subject to applicable U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income tax on its taxable income, including corporate income tax on the TRS’s income, and is, as a result, less tax efficient than with respect to income we earn directly. The after-tax net income of our TRSs would be available for distribution to us. A TRS may hold assets and earn income that would not be qualifying assets or income if held or earned directly by a REIT, including gross income from operations pursuant to management contracts. In addition, the rules, which are applicable to us as a REIT, as described in the preceding risk factors, also impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. For example, to the extent that the rent paid by one of our TRSs exceeds an arm’s-length rental amount, such amount would be potentially subject to a 100% excise tax. While we intend that all transactions between us and our TRSs would be conducted on an arm’s-length basis, and therefore, any amounts paid by our TRSs to us would not be subject to the excise tax, no assurance can be given that the IRS would not disagree with such conclusion and levy an excise tax on such transactions.If a stockholder that is an employee benefit plan, individual retirement account (“IRA”), annuity described in Sections 403(a) or (b) of the Code, Archer Medical Savings Account, health savings account, Coverdell education savings account, or other arrangement that is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (“ERISA”) or Section 4975 of the Code (referred to generally as “Benefit Plans and IRAs”) fails to meet the fiduciary and other standards under ERISA or the Code as a result of an investment in shares of our common stock, such stockholder could be subject to civil and criminal, if the failure is willful, penalties. There are special considerations that apply to Benefit Plans and IRAs investing in shares of our common stock.Failure to satisfy the fiduciary standards of conduct and other applicable requirements of ERISA, the Code, or other applicable statutory or common law may result in the imposition of civil and criminal (if the violation is willful) penalties, and can subject the fiduciary to equitable remedies. In the case of a prohibited transaction involving an IRA, the IRA may be disqualified and all of the assets of the IRA may be deemed distributed and subject to tax.In addition to considering their fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA and the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA and the Code, stockholders that are Benefit Plans and IRAs should consider the effect of the plan assets regulation, U.S. Department of Labor Regulation Section 2510.3-101, as modified by ERISA Section 3(42). To avoid our assets from being considered “plan assets” under the plan assets regulation, we intend to limit “benefit plan investors” from owning 25% or more of the shares of our common stock. For example, the limit could be unintentionally exceeded if a benefit plan investor misrepresents its status as a benefit plan investor. Even if our assets are not considered to be “plan assets,” a prohibited transaction could occur if we or any of our affiliates is a fiduciary (within the meaning of ERISA) of a Benefit Plan or IRA stockholder. Due to the complexity of these rules and the potential penalties that may be imposed, it is important that stockholders that are Benefit Plans and IRAs consult with their own advisors regarding the potential applicability of ERISA, the Code and any similar applicable law.Specific rules apply to foreign, governmental and church plans.As a general rule, certain employee benefit plans, including foreign pension plans, governmental plans established or maintained in the United States (as defined in Section 3(32) of ERISA), and certain church plans (as defined in Section 3(33) of ERISA), are not subject to ERISA’s requirements and are not “benefit plan investors” for purposes of investing in “plan assets” subject to ERISA’s requirements. Any such plan that is qualified and exempt from taxation under Sections 401(a) and 501(a) of the Code may nonetheless be subject to the prohibited transaction rules set forth in Section 503 of the Code and, under certain circumstances in the case of church plans, Section 4975 of the Code. Also, some foreign plans and governmental plans may be subject to foreign, state, or local laws which are, to a material extent, similar to the provisions of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code. Each fiduciary of a plan subject to any such similar law should make its own determination as to the need for, and the availability of, any exemption relief.If stockholders invest in our common stock through an IRA or other retirement plan, they may be limited in their ability to withdraw required minimum distributions.If stockholders invest in our common stock with assets of a retirement plan or IRA, federal law may require them to withdraw required minimum distributions from such plan or account in the future. Our common stock will be highly illiquid, and our share redemption program only offers limited liquidity. If stockholders require liquidity, they may generally sell their shares, but such sale may be at a price less than the price at which they initially purchased their common stock. If stockholders fail to withdraw required minimum distributions from their plan or account, they may be subject to certain taxes and tax penalties.Our investments in construction loans require us to make estimates about the fair value of land improvements that may be challenged by the IRS.We have invested, and may continue to invest in construction loans, the interest from which is qualifying income for purposes of the REIT income tests, provided that the loan value of the real property securing the construction loan is equal to or greater than the highest outstanding principal amount of the construction loan during any taxable year. For purposes of construction loans, the loan value of the real property is the fair value of the land plus the reasonably estimated cost of the improvements or developments (other than personal property) that secure the loan and that are to be constructed from the proceeds of the loan. There can be no assurance that the IRS would not challenge our estimate of the loan value of the real property.Our financing and securitization arrangements may give rise to TMPs with the consequences described below.Where an entity, or a portion of an entity, is classified as a TMP, it is generally treated as a taxable corporation for federal income tax purposes. However, in the case of a REIT, or a portion of a REIT, or a disregarded subsidiary of a REIT, that is a TMP, special rules apply. Rather, the consequences of the TMP classification generally would be limited to the stockholders of the REIT, except as noted below.A portion of the REIT’s income from the TMP, which might be noncash accrued income, could be treated as excess inclusion income. Section 860E(c) of the Internal Revenue Code defines the term “excess inclusion” with respect to a residual interest in a REMIC. The IRS, however, has yet to issue guidance on the computation of excess inclusion income on equity interests in a TMP held by a REIT. Generally, excess inclusion income with respect to our investment in any TMP and any taxable year will equal the excess of (i) the amount of income we accrue on our investment in the TMP over (ii) the amount of income we would have accrued if our investment were a debt instrument having an issue price equal to the fair market value of our investment on the day we acquired it and a yield to maturity equal to 120% of the long-term applicable federal rate in effect on the date we acquired our interest. The term “applicable federal rate” refers to rates that are based on weighted average yields for treasury securities and are published monthly by the IRS for use in various tax calculations. If we undertake financing or securitization transactions that are TMPs, the amount of excess inclusion income we recognize in any taxable year could represent a significant portion of our total taxable income for that year. Under IRS guidance, the REIT’s excess inclusion income, including any excess inclusion income from a residual interest in a REMIC, must be allocated among its stockholders in proportion to distributions paid. We are required to notify our stockholders of the amount of “excess inclusion income” allocated to them. A stockholder’s share of our excess inclusion income:•cannot be offset by any net operating losses otherwise available to the stockholder;•is subject to tax as unrelated business taxable income in the hands of most types of stockholders that are otherwise generally exempt from federal income tax, including qualified employee pension and profit-sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts; and•results in the application of U.S. federal income tax withholding at the maximum rate (30%), without reduction for any otherwise applicable income tax treaty or other exemption, to the extent allocable to most types of foreign stockholders.To the extent that excess inclusion income is allocated from a TMP to a tax-exempt stockholder of a REIT that is not subject to unrelated business income tax (such as a government entity), the REIT will be subject to tax on this income at the highest applicable corporate tax rate. The manner in which excess inclusion income is calculated, or would be allocated to stockholders, including allocations among shares of different classes of stock, remains unclear under current law. As required by IRS guidance, we intend to make such determinations using a reasonable method. Tax-exempt investors, foreign investors and taxpayers with net operating losses should carefully consider the tax consequences described above, and are urged to consult their tax advisors.ITEM 1B. CYBERSECURITY The Company’s Cybersecurity Risk Management ApproachThe Company utilizes and relies on CIM Group for its IT and IT administration. CIM Group’s cybersecurity strategy prioritizes detection, analysis and response to known, anticipated or unexpected threats, effective management of security risks and resiliency against incidents. CIM Group’s cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures include, among other things: enterprise-wide hardware and software management and security controls; employee training; security assessments; 51penetration testing; security audits and ongoing risk assessments; due diligence on, and monitoring and oversight of, key third-party providers; vulnerability management; and management oversight to assess, identify and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. CIM Group’s controls leverage the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cyber Security Framework. CIM Group also utilizes industry and government associations, the results from regular internal and third-party audits and other similar resources to inform its cybersecurity processes and to allocate resources.In addition, all CIM Group employees receive mandatory training on cybersecurity matters at such employee’s new hire and annually thereafter, periodic training and information updates that address new cybersecurity threats and trends, and quarterly “phishing” and social engineering testing to evaluate the effectiveness of the cybersecurity training program and raise employee awareness of cybersecurity threats.In 2023, we did not identify any cybersecurity threats that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. However, despite our efforts, we cannot eliminate all risks from cybersecurity threats, or provide assurances that we have not experienced undetected cybersecurity incidents.For further discussion of cybersecurity risks, see “Item 1A.”Management Oversight of Cybersecurity Risk ManagementCIM Group’s internal processes require escalation of material cybersecurity risks to its management and its Cybersecurity Committee (the “Committee”) for evaluation. The Committee consists of CIM Group’s Chief Technology Officer (the “CTO”), CIM Group’s Chief Compliance Officer (the “CCO”) as well as representatives from CIM Group’s operations, compliance and accounting departments. The Committee is responsible for CIM Group’s cybersecurity policy and overseeing the activities of CIM Group’s cybersecurity practices, including assessing CIM Group’s risks and controls. The Committee is chaired by the CTO who has more than 30 years’ experience in the fields of information technology, cybersecurity and adjacent roles, including serving on cybersecurity advisory councils. In addition, members of the Committee have relevant industry experience in enterprise risk management and compliance. The team responsible for developing and implementing our cybersecurity program collectively holds an MS in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance and has multiple cybersecurity certifications, including CRISC, CISM, CISA, NCSP-NIST, CISSP, CASP+, CySA+ and Security+.The Committee has established a Cybersecurity Subcommittee (the “Subcommittee”). The Subcommittee consists of, among others, the CCO, the CTO, the chief financial officers of public companies that are subject to the SEC’s cybersecurity rule adopted in 2023 and are managed by CIM Group, including our Chief Financial Officer. The Subcommittee is tasked with assisting CIM Group-managed public companies (that are subject to the SEC’s cybersecurity rule adopted in 2023), including us, in complying with such cybersecurity rule.The Committee and Subcommittee each conduct both regular quarterly and as-needed meetings throughout the year during which members of the CIM Group’s IT department provide updates and report on meaningful cybersecurity risks, threats, incidents and vulnerabilities in accordance with the Committee’s and the Subcommittee’s respective reporting frameworks, as well as related priorities, mitigation and remediation activities, financial and employee resource levels, regulatory compliance, technology trends and third-party provider risks. To help inform this reporting framework, CIM Group maintains incident response plans and other policies and procedures designed to respond to, mitigate and remediate cybersecurity incidents based on the potential impact to CIM Group’s business, IT systems, network or data, including data held by third parties, or to the IT or other critical services provided by third-party vendors and service providers.CIM Group’s personnel responsible for cybersecurity policy is comprised of individuals with either formal education and degrees in IT or cybersecurity, or with experience working in IT and cybersecurity, including relevant industry experience in security related industries.We believe that the processes, policies and procedures established by the Committee and the Subcommittee provide guidance for consistent and effective incident handling and response and set standards for internal notifications and escalations, as well as external notification considerations with respect to a cybersecurity event or incident requiring disclosure or notification in accordance with applicable laws.Board of Directors Oversight of Cybersecurity Risk ManagementThe Audit Committee of our Board has oversight of our cybersecurity risks. The Audit Committee receives quarterly updates from CIM Group with respect to the effectiveness of its cyber readiness and cybersecurity program. This oversight includes briefing and a report by the CTO or CIM Group’s Head of Operations, as well as a discussion of any cybersecurity 52breaches detected by CIM Group and a summary of, among other things, the current cybersecurity threat landscape, defensibility measures implemented by CIM Group, the health of CIM Group’s information security system, effectiveness of CIM Group’s cybersecurity controls and recoverability and business continuity testing. Pursuant to the Company’s cybersecurity policy, the Audit Committee will be promptly notified of any material cybersecurity incident required to be disclosed under Item 105 of Regulation S-K and shall oversee the Company’s response to such matter..

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